Ordinary Day
by AUMaker
Summary: It was supposed to be an ordinary day... Until they found two children whose facial features are similar to that of Naruto. Who are these kids? Post-Pein
1. Chapter 1

It was an ordinary day. The sun is at its highest as noon approaches. But for the people of Konoha, it is another day of rebuilding their village from the recent attack from the Akatsuki's supposed leader.

Neji stood at the edge of the crater where they had found his cousin, Hinata, lying on the ground bleeding to death. The air is stale and dusty. He spots the pool of blood still littered around the bottom of the crater. He had been confused, confused as to why Hinata would willingly put her herself in a suicidal position. Neji had underestimated the feelings his cousin had for Naruto. He thought it was a passing fancy, simple hero worship for the man who had given her confidence and support back when she was 12. But it was deeper than that.

He could not comprehend such feelings. He has not experienced romantic attachments like that. And he fears that it might prove to be destructive for his cousin later on. What if… She won't be as lucky the next time? What if they won't find her in time when she yet again decides to sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. What if he won't reach her?

She is his sister. Biologically so. His father had sacrificed himself to save his family. For Neji to lose a loved one without him doing anything to prevent it from happening created a conflict inside him, a gnawing fear that he wouldn't be able to live up to his father's legacy.

"I knew we would find you here."

Neji does not need to see to know who it was. His teammate's voice is very familiar to him, ingrained within him.

"I wonder why they haven't closed this yet." Neji asked, jerking his head towards the malformation.

Ten Ten shrug her shoulders and walk up beside her teammate.

"Maybe because they want to be reminded of Naruto's heroics. I don't know." Ten Ten explained.

"It's ugly."

Ten ten smiles at Neji sympathetically, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "She's alive, you know. Hinata I mean."

Neji just sighs, his eyes drifting to his teammate. "What if she won't be next time?"

Ten Ten fell silent.

"We can't just tell her to stop loving him so we could protect her. A girl's earnest feelings does not change so easily." Ten Ten explains, holding a hand to her chest. A wistful look on her face.

Neji wondered if Ten Ten had ever loved like that, or maybe she is currently experiencing it. He feels curious but he does not want to pry.

"Where did you hear about this?" Neji asks, a light teasing in his tone.

His teammate chuckles, turning to leave and beckons Neji to follow.

"I heard it from Sakura. That girl is still pinning after that Uchiha traitor."

Neji stops walking, surprised.

"I thought Sakura's warming up to Naruto?" Neji asks. Although that thought leaves a bad taste in his mouth. The pink haired girl is a close comrade to Hinata. The thought that Sakura is developing feelings for the man his beloved cousin loves leaves a seed of anger inside Neji's chest. Although he does not support Hinata's tendency to be sacrificial to the one she loves, he supports the positive effect Naruto's presence has on Hinata. Hinata has grown immensely because of her admiration on Naruto. And Neji likes that very much.

Ten Ten chuckles, waving the thought off. "If she is, then she's lying to herself. I may not entirely be a hundred percent feminine but I'm good at understanding a girl's heart." She states smiling assuringly at Neji. "Come on! Let's check the Hokage office for a mission."

Neji was about to run off with Ten Ten when he heard a whimper. He stopped walking, halting Tenten's movement. The brunette stared, confused at his sudden hesitance.

Much to her alarm, Neji's byakugan activated. She quickly pulls out a scroll and her kunai, ready to tackle whoever dared ambush two of the members of Team Gai. She look around, they had walked a bit farther away from the crater and were now entering the budding trees that Yamato had planted and grown to cover Konoha once again. The shrubs are all healthy green, evident of the artificial help they got.

Neji's vision range widens as he looks for the source of the whimper. The shrubs become transparent, as did the trunks of the trees. He continues until he sees something a couple of yards away from where he was standing.

It was a toddler.

Lying face first on the dirt, whimpering but not outright wailing. The toddler is wearing a dirtied one piece and seemed to be alone. He does not know the color of the child's hair or clothing as everything is gray scaled in a byakugan's sight except for the chakra patterns. He was surprised to see that the child has a very extensive chakra reserves for someone her age. And it looks familiar, very similar to that of…

Neji gasped and turned off his Byakugan. He ran to the child, shoving the shrubs aside. Tenten gasps and runs after him. There he sees a dark haired girl with a wavy hair. He takes the whimpering child to his arms and looks around for anyone that may be the child's parents.

"Neji! You can't just run off li- Oh My! Is that a baby!?" Ten ten pockets her weapons and kneels beside Neji who neglected to comfort the child as he turns on his byakugan to look for indications that the kid's parents were around.

The child is currently burying her face on Neji's white robe, smearing dirt on it from her hands. She appears to be about a year old.

"Kaatan… Toutan…" The toddler whimpered in fear.

"There there… Where are your parents?" Tenten cooed, patting the child's head reassuringly. She took the child from Neji's arms and then showed her face. Ten Ten gasped once more.

Neji turned off his byakugan, silently cursing. "I can't find anyone nearby. Not even a body." He turns to Ten ten who was still staring at the child with wide eyes. Neji's brows furrow and he peers at the child. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The child has wide blue eyes. A very familiar shade. In her cheeks are familiar scars, two on each cheek. There was no doubt that the child looks like a very familiar comrade of theirs.

"Her eyes! It's like looking directly into Naruto's! Even the shape is the same! What is going on Neji!?" Ten Ten asked with urgency.

Neji frowns. "It must be a relative perhaps? Although her chakra… No… Nevermind that. We must take her to Shizune-san! She might be hurt."

Ten ten nods. "We might be able to find her parents looking for her in the village too."

With that Neji and Ten ten took off to find the medic nin who might be able to help them with this mysterious child.

* * *

"Perhaps you are due to a few hours of respite, Hinata."

Two dog ears perked up sniffing the air around him. Kiba clicked his tongue seeing his two teammates walking towards him. He frowned seeing Hinata's bandages covering her head and he knows more is covering her wounds underneath her thick hoodie. He had been told that she had suffered great injuries in trying to help Naruto combat the behemoth that leveled the whole village.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" Kiba shouted towards his teammates, accompanied with a bark from Akamaru.

"Kiba-kun! Akamaru-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, the nindog bounded to her with his tail wagging in glee. Hinata slowly went down to pet the dog, mindful of her injuries.

"Hinata has developed a case of stubbornness." Shino explained bluntly.

Kiba winced at that and moved his hand to stop Akamaru who was busy licking Hinata's face, drenching her bandages with his saliva.

"I'm fine Shino-kun, really. Shizune-san herself said that I'm in perfect condition. My bruises are healing fine. Besides, I need to start training soon to prepare." Hinata explained, slowly rising to stand.

A moment of silence passed between them. The weight of Hinata's words falling in on them. The rumours of an upcoming war is no secret to the Shinobi of Konoha. But most carefully avoids the topic around civilians who had just started rebuilding their homes and establishments. With the Godaime in coma and the daimyo and Konoha's representatives still discussing who will become the new Hokage candidate, the thoughts of war is a very dim prospect in the eyes of the masses.

Shaking his head is exasperation, Kiba sighed and crossed his arms. "This is so depressing. They should really get on with choosing who the next Hokage will be." He did not add that he hope that it would be him. "I heard that there will be an upcoming Kage summit. With our Godaime close to death, Konoha needs a new Hokage stat."

Hinata frowned at this. "Tsunade-sama will not die. She will get through this." She added with conviction.

"Eh- I-I didn't mean that she will!" Kiba added defensively, raising both hands in surrender at the sight of a deeply frowning Hinata. His mind flashing with memories of an angered Hinata who was almost as scary as a pissed of Sakura.

Before their conversation could progress, three newcomers decided to join them. Coming out of the newly restored Yakiniku Restaurant was the former Team Asuma. Shikamaru was the first one to spot Team Kurenai but it was Ino who greeted the group in glee.

"Oi! Hinata! Out of the hospital already?" Ino called as she ran towards the group.

Akamaru greeted the newcomers with a series of barks then prancing around Ino before returning to his Master's side. Shikamaru walked leisurely towards the group mumbling about how troublesome the day is going while Chouji had already dug into the take out bag they had carried out of the restaurant.

"Ino-san, good day." Hinata greeted bowing slightly towards the team. She smiled respectfully at the group and was happy to see Shikamaru smiling back at her in respect.

Shikamaru had cornered her a day before, thanking her for the courageous feat of jumping to Naruto's rescue when nobody had done so. It seems that the teen was tasked by his father to relay their thanks to Hinata. In Hinata's opinion, she did not do anything special to warrant the gratitude of the Hokage's advisor. She merely did what her heart told her to do and that was to be there for her beloved when he needed someone. That was something she was not able to do so back in their childhood. She was weaker then. That was something she had diligently tried to overcome growing up.

"Eh?! What do you mean that Da-"

"Keep your voice down, you idiot!"

Hinata blinked as she was dragged out of her stupor. Before her is Ino landing an irritated slap on the side of Kiba's head. Behind her is Shikamaru and Chouji looking around, anxious that someone had heard their conversation. She sent Shino a confused look and he only slightly shook his head as if telling her that this is not the right place.

"Come!" Ino stated dragging Kiba to an alley while the rest followed suit.

The moment they entered the secluded alley, Kiba wrenched his hand off and scoffed.

"No way he's the new Hokage candidate, he's shady as fuck!" Kiba exclaimed, his face contorting in disgust.

"As unusual as this might be, I agree with Kiba's sentiment. Shimura Danzo is simply queer." Shino nodded his head in agreement.

"They had already decided. Tou-san tried to reason with the daimyo but failed. So troublesome." Shikamaru added, pure frustration in his face.

"Do you guys know what this means?"

Everyone stared at Chouji who appeared to be as serious as one can be despite the barbeque sauce smeared on his cheeks.

"The war is as good as confirmed. I had overheard from Tou-chan that Shimura-san is one violent person." Chouji dropped.

"Tsk. Wars are most troublesome." Shikamaru added sighing in defeat.

"I was hoping we could finally take a breather after that Akatsuki leader." Ino also sighed in defeat as she slumps on the semi dilapidated wall behind her.

Hinata couldn't help but be sad too. She had hoped that things would go better now. Especially for Naruto. With this talk of war, Hinata's sure that Naruto would be obligated to risk his life once again for the sake of the village. A noble cause that she could get behind with. This means that she would have to train harder so she could fight by his side to protect the village. She had vowed to do so and she never goes back on her word, that's her nindo.

"Then there's the problem with Sasuke." Shikamaru added, his tone seems to have dropped even further.

That made the group perk up in confusion, their eyes on Shikamaru.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino inquired hopeful but worried.

"The traitor? What trouble did he get into this time?" Kiba sneered.

"I don't know the specifics but a group of Kumonin came yesterday morning and reported about a certain Konoha defector, wearing the banner of the Akatsuki, who kidnapped an important Shinobi from their village." He explained, his countenance darkened.

The news garnered mixed reactions. Kiba sneered and scoffed as though the news was expected but tasteless nonetheless. Chouji appeared saddened, while Shino remains indifferent as always. Ino appears to be the most devastated.

"Sasuke-kun? He can't be." Ino whimpered closing her eyes as though in pain, she slumped to the ground. "Poor Sakura." She added as an afterthought.

"What did you expect?" Kiba scoffed combing a hand through his hair. He tried to sound cynical and uncaring but it was evident that he was moved by the news as well.

Hinata closed her eyes, her temples had started to ache at all of the bad news coming in. She was not close to the Uchiha, indifferent to him even. But she knows that he is Naruto's precious person and she trusts Naruto's judgement in his character. But she can't simply fathom why Sasuke had joined the very organisation that was after Naruto's life? What was the purpose to all of this? She does not understand. Perhaps Naruto does.

"This is quite a mess." Shino simply said as he scratched the ear of a whimpering Akamaru who sensed the heavy atmosphere from the group and was being affected by it.

"Worst is, we can't do anything about it. We are powerless for the time being." Chouji added before letting out a deep sigh that hovered above the group.

Shikamaru pushed himself from the post he was leaning on and straightened, "Soon we'll be getting missions from our new Hokage. He might not be our ideal Hokage but our loyalty is to the village, and the Hokage embodies the village."

Silence prevailed in the group. Neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Shikamaru's sentiment.

"What should we do now?" Kiba asks, his countenance still low.

The Ino-shika-cho looks at one another before sharing a nod.

"We'll continue training with our fathers." Ino answered for them.

"We still have so much to learn." Chouji added.

"We have a legacy to uphold." Shikamaru said finalising their plans.

Hinata observed the unspoken words between the team members. Their eyes reflects their shared loss. The death of their teacher and team advisor still fresh on their minds. They have something to prove of as the students of the late Sarutobi Asuma. Hinata has no idea what it feels like to lose a teacher as her own is still living and thankfully away from harm after Kurenai was brought back to life after the Akatsuki leader attack along with the baby she carries. Although she had lost her mother and uncle, she was too young back then to truly experience the turmoil a death of a family or family figure will bring. Her thoughts drifted to Naruto, he had also lost someone dear to him, didn't he. Now this news about Sasuke…

Kiba stood up and stretched his arms above him. He lowered his arms and smirked towards Shino and a contemplating Hinata.

"Guess I'll be training too. You game Shino? Hinata?" Kiba asked.

Shino stoically nods. "Affirmative. With the rumours of an upcoming battle, training ourselves is a must."

On the other hand, Hinata was hesitant. Although training with Kiba and Shino is her norm,memories of her failed attempt on rescuing Naruto came back to her. Her Jūho Sōshiken still needs some polish evident by her defeat in the hands of the Akatsuki leader. And to polish that fighting style, she needs the help of her clan, specifically her father. She had decided...

"I'm sorry Kiba-kun, Shino-kun. I plan to train with my clan."

"Eh?" Kiba was surprised by this. "That's good news Hinata! It's good to know that they are warming up to you!" He exclaimed.

"She had gained their respect, why? Because she had bravely faced the Akatsuki leader when no one else did." Shino added with a slight proud smile.

Hinata appeared embarrassed by this while Ino looked confused.

"Eh? Hinata's the heiress right? Why would she need to gain their respect?" Ino asked.

Hinata blushed in shame. "I-Ino-san… It's a tad complicated, it's because-"

"NARUTO-SAN? ARE YOU IN SOME KIND OF JUTSU?"

"DON'T COME NEAR!"

That came from outside the alley.

"Naruto?" Kiba exclaimed in confusion. Wasn't Naruto still in the hospital?

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata walked outside of the alley and the group followed suit.

What they found was not Naruto. But a blond boy, still in the cusps of toddlerhood, crying his heart out in the middle of a construction. Some people who were hammering away at the top of the construction, peered down on the boy while most people, who were carrying supplies, had dropped their chores to try to approach the boy.

It was then that they noticed that the boy is holding a kunai, a dangerous weapon to the eyes of the civilians. The reason for their hesitation.

Hinata studied the boy for a second and she couldn't help but gasp. He is the exact copy of Naruto during their childhood aside from the shape of his eyes. Another obvious distinction is the number of birthmarks in his cheeks. They are only two of each side instead of three.

The boy is holding a kunai glaring menacingly to the civilians trying to approach him. Although he stood there as threatening as a toddler can be, tears shamelessly flowed from his deep blue eyes. His lips trembled as he darted his eyes from one stranger to another.

"What you make of my village!" The boy yelled, his broken nihongo betraying his young age. He appeared disturbed at the sight of the village rubble.

His arms trembled but he remained steadfast. The sight tugged at Hinata's heart. The boy reminded her so much of Naruto back when they were young. She had the sudden urge to run to the child and take him to her arms, to comfort him.

"He looks like Naruto-sama." One civilian murmured.

"A relative perhaps?"

"I ignored Naruto-san most of the time so I don't really know." One civilian guiltily admitted.

"What the fuck? Did Naruto fail a jutsu again?" Kiba exclaimed.

"I highly disagree with the thought that Naruto had done this." Shino adds.

"Or it could be a trap." Shikamaru stated as he walked ahead of the group and took charge.

Shikamaru raised his hand and his team moved immediately. Chouji blocked the civilians from approaching the crying boy while Ino prepared to invade the child's mind to see if he poses a threat.

"No! Ino-san, wait!" Hinata called as she ran towards Ino who was in the process of doing her clan technique's hand sign. She acted on the impulse of protecting the child. She didn't know why she feel the urge to do so, this child is a stranger, or worse, a spy. But something told her that she will regret it if she let anything happen to this child.

Ino immediately stopped her signs and whipped her head confusingly in Hinata's direction. Everyone seems to be confused on Hinata's outburst as their attention is now on her.

And that includes the boy. Watery deep blue eyes darted to Hinata. The boy looked at her wide eyed and then… A hopeful smile bloomed. A smile so similar to that of Naruto's.

"Kaa-chan!" The boy exclaimed, dropping the kunai he was holding as he ran towards Hinata with open arms.

"KAA-CHAN?!"

Their collective shouts could be heard from miles away.

* * *

"She seems to be well." Shizune states, ruffling the dark head of the little toddler sucking on the fruit loli she often gives to their younger patients.

"Any idea who her parents are, Shizune-san?" Neji asked, looking at the cooing baby sitting on Shizune's lap.

"Let's not pretend that we can't see the similarities between this kid and Naruto-kun." Shizune sighed. "This is very confusing. She seems like a real person, not a bunshin or doll."

The medic nin then proceeded to pick up the toddler and place her on Neji's lap who awkwardly tried to hold the squirming child firmly on his grasp.

"I took the liberty to extract some of her hair for examination." Shizune stated as she turned the nearest monitor connected to some cables and lab equipment that Neji could not understand.

He look around in awe of the place wondering how the medic nin and the other hospital employees managed to salvage the equipments for the hospital when most were devastated by the attack on Konoha.

"See here?" Shizune pointed to the monitor showing vague lines that Neji does not know the purpose of. "These are the DNA of a legitimate human. I first thought that she might be a product of Hashirama cells but found no trace of the said cells on her." She then faced Neji again. "Yamato-taicho would be a great help right now but he's busy."

"Have you tried to compare her DNA to that of Naruto's?" Neji asked.

Shizune frowned and shook her head. "Currently, all the health records had been decimated. We had to begin anew. And that includes Naruto-kun's. It would be a great help if you'll direct him to me once you see him. We could extract DNA from him for comparison."

"Toutan!" The child chirped with a satisfied smile on her face and proceeded to throw the half eaten loli to the ground. She hummed with pride at her actions.

"So adorable!" Shizune cooed taking the child off of Neji's lap and into her arms.

"Pweety? Hima?" The child chirped pointing to herself with her chubby hands.

"Hima? Is that your name?"

The child nods her head. "Himawawi! Yah!" she said waving her hands in glee before hugging Shizune's neck. The medic nin blissfully melted on the hug cooing even more. TonTon, who was at the side of the examination table, could only fume in jealousy.

Neji could not help but to smile at the child. She seems to be a happy and calm child. She hasn't cried out loud since he had found her and had taken to smiling at every person they passed through on their way to Shizune.

The door wooden door opened showing a worried Tenten and a beaming Rock Lee.

"Neji! Tenten said that you found a youthful child!" Showing his bright teeth, Rock Lee posed a thumbs up to show his approval. "Let us partake in the quest of finding her parents together!" he practically yelled.

Shizune sighed in defeat. "Lee-kun, this is the hundredth time I'll tell you to please lower your voice in the vicinity."

"Yaaaah!" The child beamed with her hand flailing around, then she copied Rock Lee's pose which seems to render Rock Lee into tears.

"Such a youthful child! Let me welcome you with an embrace!" Rock Lee declared running towards Neji and the child with open arms.

Neji manage to stop him with a kick to the face.

"Behave yourself!" Neji yelled.

Tenten could only facepalm herself. "Ugh, why does this happen everyday…"

"At least Gai-san is not here to join in." Shizune tried to comfort the brunette.

But the chaos ensued as Rock Lee is now trying to pry the child off of Neji while the child squeals in glee as she was tug between the teens like a rope.

Shizune then sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "If you guys can't be quiet then please leave."

"But the child-"

"I'll send for you later Neji-kun. Once I find Naruto-kun."

A thought entered Neji's mind. Where is Naruto?

* * *

" _The final work will settle it all! Become such a masterpiece that That failure will be like it was cancelled altogether… Naruto!"_

He could still hear Nagato's voice…

"Is the final part approaching?" He murmured to himself.

He tossed from his futon. New bandages had been placed on him from his earlier scuffle with that violent lady from Kumo. But his injuries don't bother him that much anymore. He stared at the ceiling of the temporary holding he was placed in, a place the civilians (Mainly Inari and Tazuna) had build for him so he has a place to recuperate from his injuries.

"Ne, Nagato… You said you were the failed part. But I might also become a failure if I couldn't even save my best friend." He closed his eyes. "Just like you weren't able to save yours."

The silence was deafening to him. He knows there's still hope for Sasuke. He knows it from within his heart that he could still save Sasuke. Reach out for what little light left within him. But the doubts are still there. He thought of Sasuke's pain. He understood them now. The pain of losing someone very dear to him.

He could still feel the hollow ache from Jiraiya's passing. An ache that would never go away. Is this what Sasuke had endured on all of those years? The hollowed ache and guilt that you weren't able to do anything to prevent it?

Bright blue eyes blinked up at the sealing. Does the final part includes him to lose everything just like what Sasuke did? Is his path closer to Sasuke's after all?

"Aahhh… I want to do something." Naruto mused and raised his hand. A sharp pain from his sides produced a wince from him. He sighed remembering Shizune's words. He still needs a week to fully recuperate both his physical form and his chakra reserves. He can't wait that long, who knows what trouble Sasuke gets into during that time. He had to reach Sasuke.

To tell him that he finally understands.

 _Knock! Knock!_

The person behind the door opened it without Naruto's answer. It was Sakura (and Sai lurking creepily behind her).

"Naruto? Why are you still in bed?" Sakura asked, walking inside the small cabin. She places her hands on her hips in typical Sakura fashion and glares at her patient.

"I thought I'd be resting." Naruto answers back as he sat up and ran a hand through his blond hair.

"You can't rest with an empty stomach!" She yells as she snatched the blanket off of Naruto.

"Follow what she says Dickless or she'll drag us back to hell." Sai said in a cheerful blank smile.

"Shut up!" She yelled to Sai as he received a slap.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at this. This is one of the reason why its so fun teasing Sakura as she gets riled up so fast. He wonders if Sakura ever noticed that Sai is also teasing her because of her easy combustions.

"Can you two get out so I could get ready?" Naruto asks as he stands up and walk towards his set of casual clothes, the only ones he has as of now.

"Why not change in front of us? There's nothing to see anyway." Sai quipped.

It seems that the slap he received from Sakura was not enough. He had to have a punch too.

* * *

Naruto studied Sakura as they walked towards the newly remade Ichiraku stand. He hadn't really studied her reaction of the news they received yesterday. She must be as devastated as him, although she's doing a good job hiding it. So unlike the girl he had once knew who wore her emotions right up her sleeves.

She's still as beautiful as he remembered. The giddy feeling he experiences when looking at her was still there albeit not as much as he had in his younger days. A selfish part of him still whispers on his ear on what a great opportunity he has to snatch up Sakura, especially when Sasuke is now considered a villain. But it was not about winning anymore. Naruto's growing out of such childish thoughts. And procuring Sakura is a lost cause. She might not say it, but her heart still belongs to Sasuke. He wonders what her thoughts are in Sasuke's recent actions.

"How's the Godaime?" Sai suddenly asked, taking both teens off guard.

As if they couldn't get any gloomier…

"You know Sai, you asks things at the worst time." Naruto quipped, glaring at the still smiling Sai.

Sakura scoffed. "What did you expect? He has no sensitivity to human emotions whatsoever."

"T-That's too cruel Sakura-chan…"

"Ah… So you can't just ask for other people's health. The book did not tell me anything about it. It said that asking for people's health is a good conversation starter.." Sai said in a thoughtful manner, not at all offended by Sakura's insult.

"I-It's okay to ask other people's health." Naruto clarified as he sweat dropped. Sai is a weird case.

"So then, how's Boobs doing?" Sai asked cheerfully.

A tic bloomed on Sakura's forehead. "Oh please tell me you didn't just call my incapacitated Master 'Boobs'." She grinded, already raising an angry fist.

"Oh, I meant the other boobs. The girl with the Hyuga eyes." Sai clarified, oblivious to his impending doom.

"You mean Hinata?" Sakura blinked. "I should still really punch you for that."

"Hinata has boobs?" Naruto asks.

"Oh yes Naruto. Did you know that females has breasts." Sakura quips in a patronising tone.

Naruto stopped walking as he envisioned Hinata. Then a look of horror and embarrassment dawned on his face. "Hinata has boobs!" He wailed, either in dejection or pleasure Sakura cant tell.

The pink haired medic nin could only facepalm herself. "I'm surrounded by idiots." She grumbled..

"By the way, How is Hinata?" Naruto asked. He hadn't really seen the girl around despite the fact that he had actively sought after her days prior to thank her for her bravery.

' _She loves me like a friend! I'm glad!'_ Naruto thought with a smile. He ignored the disappointed pang in his chest. Of course he'll be happy that Hinata sees him as a good friend! Loves him for it even.

"She went home before you guys were discharged from the hospital. I'm sure her family is taking good care of her." Sakura said with a smile.

"You think we could stop at the Hyuga sector after we eat? I want to thank her fo-"

A body of a child collided with Naruto at that moment, jarring Naruto out of his thoughts. He looked down at the child who collided with him who is sprawled at the ground from the strong impact. The child had been running it seems.

"Hey, you okay?" Naruto kneeled down at the child ignoring the sharp pains he is feeling from his wounds.

The child quickly stood up, staring in awe at Naruto, unable to say anything.

"Tou-chan! Tou-chan! It's the hero!" The child exclaimed, leaving Naruto speechless as he bounded to his father who was standing not to far away from the crash site.

"F-forgive us Naruto-san!" The father stuttered, appalled that his son had collided with the village hero.

Naruto could only awkwardly wave the the apology away. "It was nothing." He said with an awkward smile. Still not used to the hero worship tone that most of the villagers had equipped towards him. He remembered the times he was ignored and forgotten by these people. The times he had longed for their acknowledgement. Now he finally earned them.

"Kazuki, watch where you're going next time." The father admonished the child as he scooped him up to his arms and placed him on his shoulders.

"Yay! High up Tou-chan!" The child cheered in glee.

Watching the father and son walk away tugged something within Naruto. Something else about him had also changed. He finally knows who his father is. The Yondaime's proud smile is still fresh from his memories. Naruto wonders… Would the yondaime and him be as close as those father and son if he were alive? Would he take Naruto up his shoulders too?

He suddenly envisioned himself with a son of his own. Would he know how it takes to be a father?

"You okay Naruto?" Sakura asked in concern, peering down at the still kneeling Naruto.

The blond shook his head and carefully stood up from his kneeling position.

"Nothing… Just thought of wanting a son as cute as that kid someday."

* * *

"Is it really okay if we take this child to Shizune-san?" Hinata asked as she rearranged the napping boy in his arms. She ignored the confused and intrigued looks from the people around her who are all trying to look past her friends who are currently surrounding her and the boy.

"It's a far safer choice." Shikamaru answered as he walked in a far relaxed pace right in front of Hinata. "Right now, we don't know who we can trust. Not even my father. Shizune-san on the other hand is solely loyal to the Godaime."

"I don't get it." Kiba said, trying to look as relaxed as Shikamaru and the others.

They are currently traversing through the destroyed village with an O formation with Hinata holding the boy at the center of the formation. Usually, this formation is used during missions involving guarding someone or something. Shikamaru had immediately took the role of a leader the moment the 'clone' child (as Kiba had taken on calling the child) fell asleep in Hinata's arms.

Hinata feels disturbed at first that they are treating the child as if he's a weapon when she feels no malice from the child and could assure that he's just a confused boy who had mistaken her as his mother. She had checked the child's chakra pathways and assured them that the child is definitely a real one but Shikamaru, the wise one amongst them, had the hunch that there is more to this than meets the eye. The child could be a kage bunshin, albeit a very strange one.

Not wanting to endanger anyone, Hinata agreed to take the child to Shizune, a medic nin, so she could examine the child in a cellular level. Although their first instinct was to contact Sakura first but because of the latest news about a certain ex-teammate of hers, they decided not to bother her.

"Maybe we should contact Naruto as well." Ino suggested. "I mean, someone might be conspiring against him."

"Yeah, it can't be coincidence that this kid looks so much like him." Kiba agreed to Ino's suggestion

"Could I just be dreaming right now about a child looking like Naruto-kun and calling me kaa-chan?" Hinata asked creating an awkward silence. She then blushed hard when she realised what she had just said. "F-forget wh-what I said."

"Aaaaanyway, we're almost there." Chouji said, pointing towards the half destroyed hospital which is currently being repaired in a hurried manner.

From afar, Hinata could make out the workers already finishing the base of the building. Most of the workers are volunteers from other villages within Hi no Kuni. She was surprised that there's so many outsiders helping Konoha back to its feet. She was especially impressed by how fast they're making progress in remaking the village. The Hyuga house itself is close to completion with the help of Yamato-taicho and his mokuton.

The group went to the office in silence as Hinata kept the boy situated in her arms. The child remained asleep for the duration of their walk but had stirred awake the moment they went inside the building, probably noticing the sudden change in temperature. It was a lot cooler inside.

"Kaa-chan?" The boy asked pushing off of Hinata's shoulder and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"I'm not your kaa-chan. But where's your real parents?" Hinata once again tried to ask the child. She had asked him this before but he was more interested in napping than anything.

The boy blinked at Hinata and started wriggling. Hinata had to balance herself as she walked. "Down Kaa-chan! Boruto can walk remember?"

"Boruto? Is that your name?" Ino asked as their formation started unraveling the closer they got to their destination.

The child only stared at Ino's face before frowning and shyly hugged Hinata's neck, burying his small face on the crook of her neck.

Ino giggled. "He's a bit shy, isn't he."

"Awww… I'll admit, he's adorable." Chouji cooed, seeing the boy's blushing face from behind Hinata.

"I have a theory that Hinata might have almost the same features as the boy's mother or caretaker and thus he sees her as that person." Shino explained.

"I thought so as well." Shikamaru agreed.

Before anyone could say anything, they arrived at Shizune's office and Kiba promptly opened the door without knocking.

"Oh!" Ino gasped, her face turning red.

The usually composed Shikamaru also appeared to be embarrassed. "W-we're sorry to disturb you."

Kiba looked like he's almost combusting. "I-I'm sorry!"

Inside the room is Kakashi sitting at a stool with his hitai-ate on the table next to him. Standing between his legs is Shizune, holding his face on one hand and some kind of flashlight on the other. Shizune sputtered at the newcomers and waved her hands in dismissal frantically.

"Y-you got it wrong! I'm merely examining Kakashi-kun's eye!" She immediately reasoned. Kakashi only grabbed his hitai-ate and giggled into it like a perverted school girl.

"That's what they say too when they get caught." Ino said.

"Don't worry children. Your eyes were not desecrated." Kakashi chuckled as he tied his hitai-ate back to his head and covered his right eye. "So? What's so important that you disrupted my check up?"

Hinata, who had also blushed at what she thought they had walked into, pat the child on his back telling him to turn and face Shizune. The boy turned and did something unexpected.

"Shishidaime!" The boy pointed to Kakashi.

"Did he just told me to ' _die, die'_ " Kakashi deadpanned.

"I think he just said ' _four, four'_ " Kiba clarified.

"I think it was ' _Mr. Mr.'_ " Ino added.

"Nooo!" The boy shook his head. "It's this!" He then opened his right hand while he folded for of his fingers on his left.

" _Roku_! I think you meant six!" Hinata said as the boy shoved his fingers to her face as if only she could understand his language.

"Yes! Rokudaime!" The boy exclaimed, bouncing in Hinata's arms.

"Rokudaime? Kakashi-sensei's not the Rokudaime." Shikamaru murmured but it was more to himself than to his peers.

Meanwhile, the others just waved it off as something a child would make up.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy. But then it widened in shock.

"Is it me, or does that child look like Naruto." He observed.

Shizune immediately facepalmed and massaged her head. "Oh no, there's more of them." She groaned.

Shikamaru perked up. "Eh? What do you mean Shizune-san?" he asked.

As if burdened by the knowledge, Shizune started swaying from where she's standing. Sensing this, Kakashi left his stool and Shizune practically fell on it.

"Neji-kun just left earlier carrying a baby, a girl, who looks like Naruto-kun too, but with dark hair." Shizune informed.

Silence fell on them as they realised how grave the situation is.

"Clones? Someone made Naruto clones?" Kakashi narrowed his eyes. A sudden paranoia bloomed inside him. Could it be that Danzo? No, cloning someone is impossible... Impossible if you're not Orochimaru.

' _This is bad.'_ Kakashi thought. ' _If this is truly Orochimaru's doing. Then… With Tsunade-sama in a coma and Danzo as Hokage, defending Konoha from a bunch of Naruto clones will prove to be difficult.'_

"No, I'm sure they're not clones. I tested the child Neji had taken in and she was definitely a child born from two parents." Shizune answered.

One could practically hear Kakashi and Shikamaru breathe a big sigh of relief.

"Then… Who is this kid?" Kiba asked, jerking his head to the Hinata and the boy's direction.

"I'm Uzumaki Boruto-ttebasa!" The boy answered enthusiastically, pointing his thumb on his chest in an arrogant manner.

…

…

…

"Don't lie little boy. Lying is bad." Ino said wagging her finger at the child, a frown on her face.

"What if that's the truth."

All looked at Shikamaru's direction.

"What if this child is truly an Uzumaki." Shikamaru continued.

"Did Naruto impregnate anyone while he was away with Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked Shizune but his question generated gasps and denials from the other rookies, particularly Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun wouldn't do that!" Hinata denied. But her heart tightened at the prospect. That is probably the most probable answer to this whole thing right now. But the thought of Naruto with another woman almost brings her down to her knees. The pain would be too great, she wouldn't know how to cope with it.

"Naruto doesn't even know how babies are made." Kiba supported Hinata's denial. His eyes darting towards Hinata in hidden pity. It better not be so or Hinata would surely collapse with that knowledge.

"With Jiraiya-sama gone," Shizune's voice broke but she quickly composed herself. "W-we have no one to ask except Naruto."

"I'll go look for that guy!" Kiba declared as he stomps out of the room.

"Can you fetch Neji-kun too? Boruto-kun-" Shizune gestured to the child still in Hinata's arms. "-Might recognise the other child Neji-kun found."

Shino, who was going to accompany Kiba, nodded his head as the two boys left for their errands.

Kakashi watched as the child who is almost the carbon copy of his student coo at Hinata's face, trying to cheer her up from her saddened mood. He admonished himself for being so insensitive. Albeit he didn't really know that Kurenai's student was harboring affection towards Naruto. He continued watching Hinata and the child as both were offered a seat as they waited for Naruto and Neji. Ino sat beside Hinata and tried talking to the child but the boy shied away from Ino's touches. It was then that Kakashi noticed something as the boy turned his head towards him and sent him a Naruto-like smile.

The boy has the same eye shape as Hinata.

Could it be?

* * *

AN: This was supposed to be a short one shot but I decided to make this a two shot instead so I could add more scenes between Neji and Himawari and maybe more. Boruto's speech is deliberate, I noticed that kids tend to have a lot of grammatical errors when they first started talking.

Edit: Thanks Aquify for noticing that blunder! XD lol, I wrote Iwanin instead of Kumonin. I'm surprised that I was not struck by lightning.

Special thanks to my editor Gio-san! XD I just realised that I forgot to give you credit. Sorry!


	2. Chapter 2

It was an ordinary day. Well, until Neji found a baby in the forest.

' _How did I get into this mess?'_ He thought as he lowered the child into the tub.

A tub usually used in washing laundry.

"Are you sure about this Neji?" Tenten asked, peering at the confused child who is looking back at them, completely focused at her temporary caretakers. Well until she got distracted with her own mouth blowing bubbles.

"Ne~ isn't it more youthful for us to take her clothes off before bathing her?" Rock Lee asked, rubbing his own chin.

True to his word, Neji was about to lower the fully clothed, albeit dirty, child into the tub.

"How should I know?"

"You're the woman here, Tenten." Neji glared at his teammate.

"Eh? Not all women knows how to take care of a child!" Tenten retorted. "And besides, I'm an only child and my father raised me most of my life. I have no idea how maternal instincts work."

Neji looked at the water just inches below of the suspended child. "And isn't it too cold for her to bathing outside… In cold water i may add?" He asks.

Team Gai is currently in Rock Lee and Gai's shared house, the only fully intact house owned by a member of the team, which is situated far east of the Village nearest to the surrounding forrest. They had decided to go there to bathe the dirt ridden baby after a civilian, who saw them walking out of the hospital, commented on how filthy the child is. Seeing as Rock Lee and Gai usually bathes in the river and thus does not own any bathroom, they had to make due with what they had. And what they had was a laundry tub.

"We must train our youth to endure! Gai-sensei had made me bathe in freezing cold waters back in my youth to strengthen my endurance!" Lee passionately announced.

"That's child abuse." Tenten deadpanned.

"I call it discipline!" Lee retorted with passion.

"Let's just get on with this." Neji said in irritation as he continued lowering the child into the water.

The moment the child's foot hit the water, she reacted.

"Bwa! Bwa! Noo! Lold! Lold!" The child exclaimed, scrunching her face in disapproval as she curled her leg up so it would not touch the water.

"I think she's telling us that it's cold." Rock Lee translated.

"Thank you for stating the obvious." Neji said in sarcasm.

"Well then, somebody heat the water!" Tenten exclaimed pointing towards the tub.

Both Tenten and Rock Lee looked at Neji. Even the child looked at Neji.

Neji, who is starting to develop a serious headache, scowled at them in disgust. "Just because my Nature type is Fire release doesn't mean that I'm good at it. I barely use ninjutsu at all!"

Rock Lee beamed. "Well, you are my eternal rival. And my eternal rivals are prodigies-"

"I'm your only eternal rival, dumbass."

"-that means that I have faith that you can do a fire ninjutsu in medium success!" Lee gave him a blinding smile with a thumbs up.

Neji looked even more disgusted.

"Ooh! Oooh!" The child starts to babble. "Fire! Fire!" She exclaims in enthusiasm. She even started to clap her hands looking expectantly at Neji.

Seeing the big blue eyes staring at him with so much hope, Neji's will began to dwindle. Such eyes reminds him of Naruto, a person he owed his psyche to. It was then he also added in his mind that Naruto-like children are also dangerous to his psyche. He sighed and pushed the child to Tenten's arms as he stood up and walked a few steps away from them.

"Get out of the way then. I don't want anyone to get hurt." He barked as he raised his sleeves up to his elbows.

"Yay!" The three children, they are all children in Neji's eyes, cheered as they back away.

He had no idea how to do a Fire release jutsu. Most of the jutsu in Konoha that has something to do with that Nature type was strictly guarded by the Uchiha. Although Neji knows the basics when it comes to his predominant Nature type, he had to make do with what he knows.

He recalled the moved Uchiha Sasuke did back in the chunin exam. If he can remember, the jutsu had ended with the tiger sign, a common sign used in Fire release. He narrowed his eyebrows trying to remember the specific signs.

' _All you have to do is preheat your chakra in your belly and breathe it out. The signs will help your chakra and mold it into your specific liking.'_ He lectured himself.

Heat coiled in his belly as his chakra flowed into that area. He raised his hands to his chest and molded the signs.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Tiger

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Instead of the controlled fireball that Sasuke had once wielded back in the infamous chunin exam, what came out of Neji's jutsu was a stream of hot destructive fire that practically shot out of his mouth in one go, scorching the tub and the ground it was standing in before trickling down to a pathetic stream. Kinda like piss. It lasted for a few seconds.

"Yay…" Came the half hearted cheer as they look at the melted metal tub.

Silence…

"I think you missed one sign Neji. But your effort was youthful." said Rock Lee.

"You know, you could have just dipped your hand in the water and use your chakra to heat it." Said Tenten.

"Dood! Dood!" ("Good! Good!" Translated by Rock Lee) cheered little Hima.

"Shut up… Just please let me suffer in peace…"

* * *

After bathing the baby, and after Neji successfully heated another bath without melting the tub, the Team decided that it's time for the young one to take a nap.

"It's already afternoon, one thing I know about children is that they need their afternoon nap." Tenten clarified in a matter of fact tone.

Shrieks of laughter engulfed the small house making, Tenten sigh.

"And she would never take a nap if you keep on playing with her Lee!" Tenten growled.

Little Hima, as they've taken to calling her, shrieked in joy as Rock Lee used her like a dumbbell, lifting her up and down with one hand while Neji watched in absolute indifference.

"Such enthusiasm! So young and already interested in training!" Rock Lee declared, still using the child as a training equipment.

"She's more interested in playing." Neji deadpanned.

"Oh that's it! Lee, you come with me! We have to buy baby food for Hima!" Tenten declared as she snatched Hima from Rock Lee's grip and passed her to a bewildered Neji.

"Eh? But Neji-"

"Neji will get her to sleep." In a terrifying moment, Tenten's head seemed to turn 180° degrees just to look at Neji with a sinister smile. "Right Neji-kun?"

He could only nod.

And that's how Neji was left alone with a child on his lap, staring at him while they both sat on the futon where she's supposed to be napping. Neji looked around the small apartment and sighed at the sight of different clothes littered on the floor while different kind of weapons decorated the walls.

It was then that Hima started to babble.

"You go to sleep." He commanded.

The little girl didn't budge and continued babbling while staring intensely at him.

He is now growing uncomfortable.

"What are you staring at?" He barked.

The little girl smiled. Seemingly enjoying his suffering.

If he needed any more proof that this child is Naruto's kin, this was it.

"You are a cheeky little girl aren't you?" He chuckled.

How strange. A little stranger making him smile like this. They said that children gives joy to people. Maybe that was it. But something is familiar with Hima and it's not just her similarities to Naruto. It was something more but he can't just put his finger on it.

"Miz, Miz." Hima babbled patting her tiny stomach with her chubby hands. "Ah ah!"

"Food?"

Hima shook her head.

"Miz! Miz! Go!" She replied. This time, she's pointing towards the kitchen.

"Miz? Mizu? You mean you want water?"

Hima nodded.

Neji sighed. "You're thirsty." He slowly stood up while shaking his head. "Kids are so demanding." He murmured to himself as he left for the kitchen.

Much to his joy, there are clean cups available. that's something he didn't expect from a bachelor house such as Gai's and Lee's home, clean dishes. He filled a cup with the water he found inside the small refrigerator and sighed at the sight of half eaten food found within it.

This is definitely a bachelor's house.

"I half expected Gai-sensei to be a neat freak but I guess they're too busy training to clean." He said to himself as we closed the lid of the water container.

He lifted up the cup and thought to himself. Could babies even drink from cups?

He's not really that knowledgeable about children. Most of his life growing up had been dedicated to training. After his father's death, he had closed himself off from his relatives and was convinced that his destiny had already been laid out to him. A branch family scum who is locked behind a cage. Now that he's grown up and Naruto had made him see the truth, he realised that he was a walking contradiction. He had vehemently believed that the role he had been born in was set. He saw himself as the oppressed member of the branch family, forever be trapped by the curse mark, nothing but a tool to the main family. But at the same time, he had risen above most members of the main family in terms of skill, managed to gain their respect and was treated well by them.

Meanwhile, he had abused the heiress of the main family. He had become the very monster that he believed a main family member was. He had looked down unto others, belittled

them and thought of himself as superior while still holding on to the ideals that their roles were set and he was a second class member of the Hyuga clan. All because he didn't try to understand the truth about his father's death.

Now he knows what his father felt during that time. His father did not die because he was just the branch family head and thus irrelevant. No, his father sacrificed himself because his family was in danger. Because his brother was set to die.

Now the Hyuga clan is more of a family than a clan with two divisions. The topic of the caged bird seal is still a sensitive matter within the clan. Although the children from the branch family are still set to be sealed with it, many had already grown past their 3rd birthdays. Many believe that the elders in the main family are being stalled by the Head of the clan, Hiashi, and the barrage of protests from the main family members and branch family members. And this all started after the fated chunin exams. All they are waiting for is the abolishment of the said practice.

"Naruto would surely remedy that once he becomes Hokage." Neji chuckled.

' _Better yet, it would be much easier for him to abolish the caged bird seal if he marries into the clan. Hinata-sama! We are all counting on you.'_ He thought, silently cheering of the clan's heiress.

Now that he think about it. That baby. Baby Hima's chakra system was similar to that of-

CRASH!

Dropping the ceramic cup, Neji hurriedly left the kitchen and sprinted to the living room and was greeted with a horrific scene.

Baby Hima had somehow knocked the elevated weapons shelf on the left side of the room and is now surrounded with sharp objects littered around her. There's a red mark on her cheek and seeing the discarded nunchaku near her, the weapon must have dropped directly on her.

The baby seems to be in shock. She is in a sitting position, the left sleeve of her nagajuban hanging loosely over her shoulder and the hem of the sleeve seems to be pinned by an upright Kunai which seems to have gone past through the sleeve and into the tatami floor.

"Uh?uh?" Hima gasped as her eyes started watering. Her body started shivering in both shock and fear as she realized that she's stuck and she had done something wrong.

Neji suddenly feared that the baby might try to crawl to him and by the sharp kunai littering the path between him and her, she might seriously cut herself if she does just that. Worst yet, a katana is situated right in front of her which seemed to have tumbled down and escaped its sheath.

"Ni-nii-tama!" Hima cried looking right at Neji with tears flowing from her eyes. Her free hand reaching towards him but she did not dare move an inch.

"Nii-tama! Nii-tama!"

Neji was suddenly struck with a similar scene from long long ago.

" _ **Nii-sama! Nii-sama! H-help me!" Hinata, about 6 years old, called unto a passing Neji. She was stuck in the rose bushes, the thorns digging into her skin. She didn't move in fear of the thorns digging deeper as she laid there in the bushes, crying out for help.**_

 _ **Neji thought it was the most pitiful sight.**_

" _ **H-help me!" The girl stuttered, her tears flowing out of her eyes. "N-neji nii-sama!"**_

 _ **He merely scoffed in disgust, side eyeing the child before turning his head.**_

" _ **How weak."**_

" _ **Nii-sama! Nii-sama!" the cries grew smaller and smaller as he walked away.**_

"Nii-tama! Nii-tama!"

Neji blinked as he looked down at the crying child in his arms. Desperately clawing up to him. He realised that he was kneeling down right in front of her, the sharp blade of the katana digging into his calf. He had somehow unconsciously walked towards Hima's cries and is now right in front of her. He quickly pulled the kunai that was pinning Hima and pulled her up to his arms. He stood up, wincing from the shallow wound in his calf and walked back to the futon. Hima buried her face in his chest, still crying.

"Nii-tama!" she cried.

"There there…" he murmured. "Nii-sama will protect you…-"

 _ **He saw Hinata's prone body lying at the bottom of the crater. So much blood around her. Too much blood around her.**_

" _ **Sakura! It's Hinata! She's hurt!"**_

"-Even when you don't need it anymore. I'll still be there for you. Protecting your future… Your life…-"

" _ **Nii-sama? I-It's almost my fifth bi-birthday." Hinata stuttered, shyly twiddling her chubby fingers together.**_

" _ **What do you want for your birthday? I'm sure tou-san and I can get you whatever you like." Neji beamed down at his little cousin.**_

 _ **A bright smiled bloomed on Hinata's face. "I want to play with Nii-sama more!"**_

"-Cause that's what older brothers are for."

Hima made an approving sound.

"I'm so sorry for not being there when you needed me, Hinata…" He cried.

* * *

Sakura narrowed her green eyes, squinting up at the half finished house just right across the newly made Ichiraku ramen stand.

"Is that Kiba?" She said pointing towards the figure standing on the roof of the said house. She can't tell as it was another human being tailing the figure instead of a dog.

"HEY KIBA!" Naruto predictably called towards the figure as he pushed aside the flap of the stand to wave at the figures.

"NARUTO! WE FOUND YOU!" Kiba predictably called back.

"Ahhh…. Loud mouths.. The lot of them." Sai sighed happily as always.

Teuchi, who was reaching for the empty bowls, chuckled at this. "The day wouldn't be complete without shinobi shouting at each other in my ramen stand."

In one jump, Kiba landed right in front of the stand as he comically panted as though terribly exhausted while Shino just calmly walked towards them and refused to participate in Kiba's exaggerations.

"Oi Kiba, what's the matter? Where's your dog?" Naruto asked.

"Shizune-" pant pant "-children-" pant pant "-who looks like you!" He finished.

"What?"

"Shizune-san requests you to join us to solve a mystery that had been presented to us earlier this noon." Shino clarified.

Sakura emerged from the stand with Sai exiting after her. She crossed her arms on her chest and raised a dignified brow.

"Mystery? What's this mystery?" She asks.

Kiba seems to have catched his breath and said."It involves children who looks lik- oooof" and he was elbowed by Shino who shook his head in shame.

"Too many eyes and ears." Shino cryptically said, looking from side to side as if being watched.

"Children?" Naruto grew even more confused.

Sai beamed. "Did you get anyone pregnant? With a dick like yours?"

They ignored Sai. But Kiba seemed to be interested.

"It's urgent Naruto." said Shino.

Kiba nodded. "And we also have to find Neji." he finished.

"Find Neji? Why?"

They all look at the source of the voice and saw Tenten walking with Rock Lee, who is holding bags of what seems to be bananas and watermelons.

"Eh? You look like you're going to have a feast, Tenten." Sakura said in awe.

"My beautiful cherry blossom flower!" Rock Lee passionately exclaimed, twirling in joy at the sight of his beloved. "I shall hold a feast of your honor and beauty in this fine afternoon!"

"Eerrr… No thanks."

"I'm really confused now." Naruto added.

"Urgent… I said Urgent." Shino said, his voice still soft but irritation evident within it. He was promptly ignored.

"We're bringing this to Neji. Wanna come?" Tenten asked Sakura with a smile.

"Its seems like we're being called so maybe next time." Sakura politely refused.

"Hmmm, you think Naruto impregnated someone Sai? Did he tell you this?" Kiba asked a smiling Sai with narrowed eyes.

"Just a hunch. And my hunches are usually right." Sai clarified.

"No they're not! And why are you guys talking like I'm not right in front of you!" Naruto yelled waving his hands between Kiba and Sai.

"QUIET!" All grew silent, looking at Shino's direction with wide eyes. This might be the first time they had ever heard him speak that loud. The buzzing if insects could be heard in the background and they don't want to know what's causing that noise… or where is it from.

"We're all going to the hospital."

They nodded.

"Right now."

Tenten shook her head and pointed to a certain direction. Probably where Neji is.

Shino sighed. "Lets just go."

And everyone nodded simultaneously.

It was like watching over children. Shino couldn't help but smile at that thought.

* * *

This was supposed to be an ordinary day for Naruto. But why was he being dragged to the hospital with Kiba sending him judging glances and a frequent looks of suspicion. Did he do something wrong? It was unnerving to be stared at. Naruto suddenly missed (who was he again?) Shino's presence as that man can successfully keep Kiba in line. Too bad Shino had left with Tenten and Rock Lee to fetch Neji and the supposed baby who is supposedly part of this whole thing. The duo didn't really say anything much about the situation, only vaguely referencing him. Guess Naruto would just have to wait.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? What's going on?" He asked his teammate who is walking alongside him.

"I'm sure Shizune-san will tell us what this is all about." Sakura said frowning. "I don't like being kept in the dark." She admitted.

"You know Naruto..." Kiba started. "I didn't expect this from you." He said, giving Naruto a look of disappointment.

The blond could only tilt his head in confusion. "I really have no idea what you are talking about."

"Aren't you jumping into conclusions too fast Kiba? Whatever those conclusions are." Sakura said, still a bit irritated with the fact that she was not given all of the information she needed. Although she trusts her senpai, Shizune, she cant help but be irritated still and she has been high strung lately. And she knows exactly why.

Kiba on the other hand, regarded Sakura also with suspicion. He knows about Naruto's crush on Sakura back when they were still in the Academy. So if there's anyone he wants to make a baby with, If he even knows how to, maybe it's Sakura. But then again, Sakura seems to be still hung up on the Uchiha traitor.

"Ne, Sakura. Did you ever visit Naruto during his long trip with-" Kiba hesitated as he peered towards Naruto, assessing how he could say Jiraiya's name without triggering bouts of melancholy towards the blond.

"Ero-sennin?" Naruto finished for him. Although there's a slight frown on Naruto's face, Kiba couldn't tell if he had struck a nerve. But to his relief, Naruto sent him a smile that told him that he had been frowning about something else.

"Nope, Naruto's exact location was kept secret from anyone aside from Shishou." Sakura answered, her voice breaking when she mentioned her sensei's name.

' _Maybe I could visit Tsunade-sama later on. To see how's she's doing.'_ Sakura thought. ' _I could bring Naruto along if he wants.'_ She then frowns at her thought. ' _Naruto better not think that I'm asking him on a date, shanarooo!'_

"I miss baa-chan…" Naruto admitted.

Sakura was further convinced that she should ask him to come along later on, maybe to make up with her failed attempts at cheering him up these past few days. She cringed, thinking of the time she had brought up Tsunade's situation, hoping to distract Naruto from the Sasuke's current situation. It only end up saddening them both even further.

' _Sasuke-kun…'_ Sakura thought to herself, a familiar pain blooming in her chest. She felt torn between her loyalty to Sasuke and her loyalty with the village. She simply couldn't believe that Sasuke had stooped this low. And worst still, she could do nothing about it. How does one act when the love of their life is now their enemy? An enemy that is bound to be hunted by the other villages? A gnawing fear of someone managing to kill Sasuke for good eats at Sakura's heart. She is so lost at what she should do. How could she love a traitor?

' _Let's go after Naruto, chaaa! He's so much cooler now! And he's the village hero!'_ Her inner traitorous self said and she quickly buried that suggestion into the deepest part of her subconsciousness. She's not that fickle. She did plan to actually try and 'like-like' Naruto just so she could save herself the heartache of loving Sasuke, but that proved to be a complete failure. She just can't stop loving Sasuke. Maybe it's because she still hoped that the Sasuke she knew was still there deep inside the mask of vengeance. Hoped that Sasuke can find the light inside him again and return to them, and she's still hoping. And if she did end up liking Naruto like that, her feelings would be a mere shallow pond compared to Hinata's feelings for the blonde. And the way Naruto smiles so brightly when Hinata's near… Ah! They irritated her. So close but so oblivious, both of them are. Meanwhile her love… She frowned once more. Her chest clenching in pain at the thought of Sasuke...

"Ah! Is this what they call a heavy atmosphere? It seems that I'm getting better at sensing these things." Sai said in pride, breaking the silence and rosing the group from their individual thoughts.

"Sai, you are breaking Naruto's record at irritating me." Sakura growled, raising an angry fist towards Sai.

"It feels so weird looking at Naruto so deep in thought." Kiba stated inching away from Naruto as though he disgusts him.

"Oh? That only means at least I have the brain capacity to actually have deep thoughts. Unlike you." Naruto retorted with a grin.

"Brain and Naruto? In the same sentence? What is this world turning into!?" Kiba retorted with a fanged grin of his own.

"Oh, you prefer a battle of fists instead of wits?"

"Bring it on fish cake!"

"You don't have your dog to save you now, mutt!"

"Look at what you've started Sai!" Sakura grabbed Sai's collar and shook him in anger.

The pale skinned man just smiled, as always.

No punching actually ensued from Naruto and Kiba. Both just grinned at each other, still walking towards the hospital.

"You know, you are acting weird, asking Sakura-chan about those things tte-bayo." Naruto said.

"See!" Kiba pointed towards Naruto. "The kid has a tick like that too!" He said.

"You've been mentioning this kid. Who is it?" Sakura asked.

"That's the point! We don't know exactly who he kid is, he claims to be called Boruto and supposedly an Uz-" Kiba stops himself. "I'm not supposed to say it out loud." he spots the hospital in the distance. "You know, it's better if you see him for yourself, come on!"

And with that Kiba sprinted towards the hospital with the confused trio in tow.

* * *

Naruto didn't expect anything when Kiba opened the door. He definitely did not expect a toddler who looks exactly like him, come running to the them and beaming up at him.

"Tou-chan! Tou-chan! You here!" The boy squealed, throwing himself to Naruto's leg, hugging it lovingly.

His mind went blank. "What-"

"See! See! I knew he's the father!" Kiba exclaimed pointing at him. Akamaru barked in agreement to whatever his master said.

"What-"

"Wait a minute Kiba-kun." Naruto heard Kakashi said.

' _Kakashi-sensei?'_ Naruto thought, confused as he looked around the room.

And there he was, Kakashi, lounging in a seat near a standing Shizune. Team ten is there too. Shikamaru is looking straight at him with an inquiring gaze. Chouji seems to be in shock, as well as Ino. Beside Ino is a red faced Hinata who seems to be dejected at something, her gaze is also on him.

He felt a tug on his pants.

"Tou-chan! Up up!" The boy exclaimed, jumping up and down, wanting to be held.

"Naruto? What is the meaning of this?" Naruto heard Sakura's enraged voice behind him.

"I swear I have no idea what's going on!" He answered, horrified that he's about to get a beating. But his eyes are still on the young child bouncing up and down at his leg.

"Carry him Naruto-kun." He heard Shizune say.

"I don't know how!" Naruto admitted in panic.

It was Hinata who came to his rescue (Something that she had been doing more recently), holding the boy on his little hips and pushing him up to Naruto's eye level. The boy immited a 'yay' sound as he came face to face with Naruto and wrapped his little arms around Naruto's neck.

Much to his confusion, Naruto felt his chest clench. It was not a bad feeling. It was more warm and addicting. He recalled his thoughts earlier that day, about him and a son, a family.

' _Keep your head out of the gutter!'_ Naruto scolded himself. ' _Something weird is going on! It's not the time to be thinking about a family you could never have.'_ A dark voice within him said. It was the voice that he had been ignoring for most of his life. A voice he had once confused with the fox. But it was more him than anything else.

"Tou-chan!" The boy happily chirped on his ear.

Naruto hadn't even moved an inch since the boy had embraced him. Should he hug the boy back? Who is this child? Why does he looks like him? He met Hinata's gaze, his own inquiring hers. The shy girl bravely met his, shrugging her shoulders telling him that she has no idea either.

"Support his bum, Naruto-kun." Hinata softly advised, bravely touching his prone arm and leading it under the child's bottom to keep the boy up.

An unfamiliar warmth spread on the spot Hinata had touched, creeping towards his chest giving him goosebumps. A sudden urge to impress the Hyuga enters Naruto's mind. But he decided to ignore it, after all, she's just a dear friend.

"Who's this kid, Hinata?" He asks.

It seems that Kiba and Ino were about to say something when Shizune's hand rose up to halt them.

"Hold up." Shizune said, walking towards Naruto with a cotton bud in hand. "Sakura-chan? Can you extract some samples from Naruto-kun's cheeks?"

In the corner of Naruto's eyes, he saw Sakura bypass him to take the cotton bud from Shizune and turns to face him. Her face serious telling him that she's in her medic nin mode. He saw Hinata make way for Sakura, the dark haired teen seems still a bit down for some reason.

"This better explain things." He heard Sakura murmur as she held his chin, something that he could not swat cause his hands are full with a nuzzling kid, and forced his mouth to open. His eyes widened in confusion.

"Akuah-han?" He managed to let out.

"Nooo!" The boy started swatting Sakura's hand. "Baa-chan's going to give shot again! Tou-chan's not sick!" The boy glared at Sakura.

The pink haired girl sputtered. "B-baa-chan!?" her eyes widened.

Ino's obnoxious laugh engulfed the room while the others tried their best to hold their laughter.

"B-Boruto-kun, I think you meant ba-chan. Baa-chan's is used for old people. Sakura-san is still young." Hinata explained with a blushing face as though she is getting second hand embarrassment when the child called Sakura grandma instead of Aunty.

"But kaa-chan-"

Naruto's eyes almost bugged out of his eyes. "Kaa-chan!?"

"-ba-chan is going to do a shot. Boruto gets shots from ba-chan when he's sick.-"

"Narutoooo! Take full responsibility to Hinata and your son! Shanaroooo!"

"-and Tou-chan's not sick. So he doesn't need shots tte-basa! " The child explained with pride at his deduction ignoring the chaos ensuing around him as Naruto looked from him to Hinata with wide eyes, Hinata looks like she's about to pass out in embarrassment, Sakura's almost foaming in the mouth, Sai looks pensive, Kiba's roaring in laughter, Ino's doing the same and everyone else are holding back their giggles.

"Can somebody explain to me what's going on!?" Naruto yelled, his face slowly reddening like a ripe tomato.

Kakashi wiped a tear on the corner of his eye as he reigned his chuckles. "Hehe, sorry Naruto. Your dilemma was just too amusing."

"Thank you for finding joy in my misery."

"What are mijery, tou-chan?" Boruto inquired lightly tapping Naruto's whiskered cheek.

"What DOES misery means. Mi-se-ry. That's the right question." Naruto corrected subconsciously.

Despite the intense embarrassment (And slight pain at the thought of Naruto having a child from someone else), Hinata could not help but giggle at Naruto's treatment with the boy. He probably did not notice it but he's holding the child in the proper way now. And the way he corrected the boy's speech is endearing. Hinata's heart tightened at the sight of Naruto carrying a child in his arms, she blushed at the thoughts that are entering her mind.

"I could explain, Naruto-kun." Shizune volunteered. "This is Boruto-kun." She gestured to the child. "He claims to be an Uzumaki. He had also mistaken Hinata as his mother and now you as his father, which is more probable."

Naruto sputtered almost dropping the child. "What!?"

"I can see the resemblance." Sakura nodded, looking from the child to Naruto.

"More than just a resemblance. The kid's a full on copy of Naruto." Kiba stated his observation.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I disagree. The child has few subtle differences from Naruto. His birthmarks for example."

"And the shape of his eyes." Chouji added.

"hmm…" Kakashi hummed, stroking his covered chin in deep thought. Nobody saw his eyes darting to Hinata.

"So, we want to ask you if you had ever fathered a child from your adventures with Jiraiya-sama, Naruto-kun." Shizune asked, her tone professional.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "No disrespect to Jiraiya-sama, but he was very… Promiscuous." To make a point, Kakashi showed his orange book that he carries everywhere. "Surely he had shared his knowledge to you." Kakashi finished causing some of the girls in the vicinity to blush.

On the other hand, Naruto looked confused and then surprised. "Wait- Sex produces babies?"

The sound of hands making contact with faces was prevalent throughout the room.

"What's sex?" Boruto asked, much to everyone's horror.

"Ooh, Naruto, if you weren't just holding a child…" Sakura growled, raising her infamous angry fists.

Meanwhile, Sai had inched closer to Kakashi.

"Sensei, how does a male ask a woman to reproduce with him." He boldly asked causing Ino, who had heard his question, to blush a deep red.

"Ohohoho, I have so much to teach you my dear student."

Kiba blanched at Naruto's question. "Eh? Does that mean you had-" he spied Sakura's still raised fist. "-fornicated before, Naruto?" He asked a bit envious if this was true.

"No no!" Naruto shook his head (He did not notice Hinata's sigh of utter relief.). "Jiraiya-sensei had told me about _it_ before but he didn't really explain that that's how babies are made."

Boruto decided to put his own cents about it. "Tou-chan told me that babies are like plants, you plant a _seed_ on the _pot_ and a sprout comes out! Like a baby!" He finished with an awed voice.

Glares were sent to Naruto.

He shook his blond head profusely. "I swear I'm not the tou-chan he mentions!"

"Well then, one way to find out." Sakura moved closer to Naruto holding the cotton bud. "Open up, I'm gonna take some cheek cells. We can extract your DNA there."

The blond raised a brow but it was the child he was holding who voiced his question.

"What's DMA, ba-chan?" Boruto asked as he watched Sakura swipe the bud inside the corner of Naruto's mouth.

"D-N-A, and it's complicated." Sakura answered.

The child crunched up his nose in disgust. "I don't like compikated."

Hinata giggled at this.

The pink haired medic nin made quick work in extracting samples, three buds in total, and handed them to Shizune who placed them inside a sterile ziplock bag. She quickly joined her senpai at the back of the office where most of the laboratory equipments are at, leaving the group in the office.

"How fast will they get the results?" Chouji asked, trying to peek at what's going on at the back.

"With the two of them doing it together, I'll say about an hour or less." Ino stated before pausing. "You know what, I should really help too." She decided and raced after Sakura and Shizune, snagging a vacant lab coat on her way there.

"Eeeh, I always forget that Ino had delved into the medic arts before." Chouji admitted.

"What's taking Shino so long?" Kiba asked to himself, nobody but his dog responded.

It was not long before Naruto's arm grew tired and his sides started to hurt. He slowly kneeled down to put the child he was holding to the ground.

"Stand for awhile, I'm getting tired." Naruto whispered to Boruto with a pained smile.

"You are sick, aren't you? Is that why ba-chan giving you shot?" Boruto asked, his big deep blue eyes filled with concern.

Naruto's own bright blue eyes softened. "Sort of. So walk around for awhile okay? Don't let Hinata carry you too, she's also hurt."

The boy nodded in understanding before darting off to play with Akamaru.

When Naruto raised his head, he saw Hinata watching him. A bright blush painted her cheeks for being caught. He didn't really mind that she was staring. In fact, he wouldn't mind if she stared some more, and that confused Naruto most of all. He has been feeling weird lately, maybe from all the stress he's getting. So Naruto just sent her a comforting grin.

"Does it feel weird to be mistaken as that kid's mother? He seems convinced that you are his kaa-chan." Naruto asked, mindful of Hinata's body language, gauging if she's comfortable with the conversation.

She hesitated, her shyness rearing its head. But seeing Naruto's supportive smile gave her the courage to answer.

"Boruto-kun is an endearing boy. If it brings him comfort, then I don't mind being mistaken as his kaa-chan." She said, her eyes darting towards Boruto.

He can see her eyes softening towards the boy and Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"You seem to be good with children. You knew how to carry one." He observed as he slowly stood up and walk towards one of the vacant seats.

"M-my sister… I helped babysitting her back in the day." She said as she started playing with her fingers, a blush still on her cheeks. She can't believe that she's having a normal conversation with Naruto! And she hadn't fainted so far.

' _Have courage Hinata! This is the man you aspire to walk beside with. For you to reach that, you have to have courage!'_ She thought to herself.

"Ah! So that's why. That's awesome Hinata!" Naruto grinned, he then remembered something. The memory of Hinata heroically coming to his aid crossed his mind. That's what he wanted to thank her for. "Oh by the way! I want to tha-"

"Shizune-san? You called for me?"

All eyes are on the newcomers who had opened the door. Standing at the door is Shino and Neji with Tenten and Rock Lee right behind them. But most of the attention was on the baby in Neji's arms. Another blue eyed, whiskered child. And it was Boruto who confirmed their suspicion.

"Himawari!" Boruto cheered as the baby also shrieked at seeing the blond boy.

"Nii-tama! Nii-tama!" The baby bounced, throwing her arms wide open towards the boy.

' _So her name is Himawari.'_ Neji thought with a smile. ' _How fitting for this girl made of sunshine.'_

"Eeeh? Who is this little Naruto?" Tenten exclaimed in surprise, looking at Boruto.

"Another youthful child!? This day couldn't get any better for you Naruto!" Rock Lee exclaimed, sending Naruto and exaggerated cry of joy.

Kiba narrows his eyes at the new child. "She looks very familiar."

"She looks like Naruto still." Chouji commented.

"No, there's something different about her." Shikamaru agrees with Kiba, also studying the features of the new child. Then his eyes drifted to Hinata who is also studying the new child, his eyes widened in shock as they darted back and forth from Hinata to the baby girl.

"They're siblings right?" Shikamaru inquired to Neji.

"It would seem so." Neji said as he kneeled down to bring Himawari closer to Boruto. The young blond immediately wrapped his arms around the baby's head, bringing her closer to him. The calm baby just cooed at her brother.

' _Everything makes sense now.'_ Shikamaru thought, smirking at his discovery. ' _The only question is, how is this possible?'_

The pineapple haired male crossed his arms in contemplation, he caught Kakashi's deceptively bored gaze and he immediately knew that the jounin had figured out what he had just discovered. The jounin shook his head bringing a finger to his covered lips. The message was clear, it's not yet time for them to reveal their discovery. Too many questions yet unanswered.

"Neji nii-sama…" Hinata bowed towards her elder. "When did you find that baby?"

The Hyuga genius seemed to be surprised seeing Hinata there. His eyes flickered towards Naruto for a second before addressing Hinata's question. "Just before noon. We found her in the forest. We immediately noticed her similarities to Naruto." He explained, his eyes softening towards Hinata.

"This kid-" Kiba points to Boruto. "Thinks Naruto's his father too!" He finished.

"And thinks Hyuga Hinata is his mother." Sai continued with his usual blank smile. "Which is impossible as according to what I have observed, he is emotionally involved with Haruno Sakura." He bluntly said.

' _Sai you idiot!'_ Everyone (but Naruto and Hinata, and the kids) collectively thought glaring daggers at Sai who just smiled innocently like he didn't just hurt the feelings of one occupant of the room, or more like he didn't really know that he had hurt anyone.

"Viewing his opinions as void, why? Because he is a new addition to their team and thus not as familiar to Naruto and Sakura as we are." Shino whispered comforts to a visually disturbed Hinata who had stiffened at Sai's comments.

"What are you talking about Sai? I'm emotionally involved with all of my friends." Naruto clarified, giving his friends a wide grin.

Some smiled at this while others once again just shook their head in defeat at his obliviousness. One has to wonder where he got this confusion and why he is so oblivious to Hinata's feelings. At this point, it's starting to sound like he is in denial with the truth.

The dark haired baby girl, who had been so preoccupied with her older brother, finally noticed Naruto by his loud proclamation. Her eyes widened and started doing a 'ooh' sound pointing at Naruto. Then a incredibly bright smile broke out of her face.

"Tou-tan!" The child exclaimed in a loud shrill voice, accurately representing her joy.

"How is this possible then?" Neji wondered as Naruto, after being urged by Tenten and Hinata, took the baby from Neji and is currently being mentored by Hinata on how to handle a baby.

"I have a few theories." Kakashi said crossing his fingers together and used them as a support for his chin. "But I want to see the DNA results first."

Meanwhile, Naruto is panicking on his way of holding Himawari.

"Eh? She's so light compared to the gaki!" He exclaimed as he supported the back of Himawari's leg. He did not add that carrying her would be easier for his injuries. He did not want Hinata to think that he'll back down from such a trivial thing as an injury.

"That's it Naruto-kun. Just relax your shoulders." Hinata patiently coaxed, Boruto is looking up at them while clinging to her leg.

"Don't you dare drop her on her head Naruto. Or else Neji would skin you alive with his own hands." Tenten threatened him good naturedly.

"Tou-tan~ kaa-tan~ tou-tan~ kaa-tan~" The baby sang waving her hands around in glee before breaking out into babbles. Although nobody really paid attention to her babbles.

"You know what I realised right now? I'm not ready to be a father at all." The blond admitted with a chuckle.

Hinata blushed at this. "Anou… It might be presumptuous of me but, I think Naruto-kun is good with children."

"You think so Hinata?" Naruto grinned, his complete attention on Hinata even though Himawari's hands are starting to roam around his face, cupping his cheeks and rubbing his chin, a frown starting to form on her lips, making her chubby cheeks even more prominent.

When the child pulled on his hair though, he couldn't ignore her any longer.

"Hey? What gives?" He exclaimed trying to shake the child's hands off of his face.

"Himawari's not used to seeing Tou-chan with tall hair-"

"You mean long hair."

"-long hair." Boruto corrected.

"Oh?" Kakashi seems interested in this. "Does your Tou-chan have short hair then?"

"Eh? Kakashi-sensei, I've always had my hair long." Naruto clarified but was stopped by Kakashi who placed a finger to his covered lips to shush him. He then understood that his sensei is about to interrogate the child.

Boruto beamed. "Yes! Kaa-chan cuts my Tou-chan's hair. It gets evewer on the floor. Himawari's not allowed to eat it." He nods like he just stated some profound knowledge.

"Aahhh, this kid is so cute." Chouji said from the corner of the room.

"Ah! The flames of youth in this child is overflowing!" Rock Lee exclaimed but was quickly shushed by Tenten.

"Can you tell Kaa-chan what you were doing before you appeared on the village Market?" Hinata asked, joining in with the questioning.

"I was at home, kaa-chan! We waited for Tou-chan to come home from a mithon member?"

"Mithon?" Tenten wondered.

"I think he meant mission." Neji clarified.

"You were waiting for me? And then what happened?" Naruto asked.

The boy frowned, his eyebrows narrows in thought. "I can't member."

"What does this mean, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked Kakashi, he is probably as confused as everyone else.

The boy was telling them about a simple house life. But who's houselife was it? It couldn't be Naruto's. Just a few days ago the village had been destroyed, Naruto was critically injured and had almost released the nine tail fox inside him, he was not on a mission. It couldn't be Hinata's either, the girl had also been critically injured and had stayed at the hospital most of that time, not waiting for her husband with her children.

"It could be that these kids are clones with false memories, created as a bargaining chip to the village someday. But these two escaped." Shikamaru theorised, causing some to gasp.

"They couldn't be." Hinata whispered kneeling down to hug Boruto close to her. Naruto instinctively did the same to Himawari.

"Or they could be more than that. Remember, Shizune had said that they are definitely not clones." Kakashi cryptically added.

"What if they're time travelers from the future?" Naruto suggested, causing some to gaze at him with disbelieving looks.

"That's stupid Naruto, even from you." Kiba scoffed.

"I-It does sound better than them being clones." Hinata stated.

Neji on the other hand, seems to be in deep contemplation. "They are humans. They definitely are. But the question is, where did they come from? More specifically, who made them?"

Nobody was able to answer that, but a sense of dread fell into the group.

* * *

"Yes, yes, I've seen a boy who looks like that. Looks like Naruto-san. I saw some of the Clan heirs taking the kid to the direction of the hospital." said the random civilian.

"Thank you." The dark haired man stated with a slight bow.

"Are you somehow related to that boy? Maybe to Naruto-san?" The other civilian asked, studying the man from head to toe.

The man is wearing standard Konoha Shinobi uniform, his dark brown hair is kept in a tight knot above his head. His facial features are unassuming, a forgettable face. But something about the man is strangely hypnotising. He wears a coat of aura telling people that he's a person one does not want to mess with. At the same time, one couldn't help but be awed by his authoritative presence.

"Hmm… You could say that I'm a relative." The man said with a familiar grin.

* * *

Everyone stared at awe at what's being shown on the monitor.

BORUTO-NARUTO= 56% MATCH

HIMAWARI-NARUTO= 48% MATCH

"It's confirmed. You are the father Naruto-kun. If you were a distant relative, your DNA sequence will match a lot lower than what's being shown, about 5% or so. But the match being this high means that you are the other half of a mating pair." Shizune explained.

"Wow…" Kiba whispered.

"You are too young to be a father, Naruto-kun!" Rock Lee exclaimed but his tone is a tad bit envious. It seems that Naruto's youth is too strong that it's _leaking_ into adulthood.

"How is this possible?" Hinata murmured from her seat, Boruto sleeping with his head on her lap and his legs on Sakura's lap.

Naruto remained silent, his expression serious. Himawari is also sleeping peacefully on his arms as he slightly swayed his body just like what Hinata had taught him earlier on.

"I knew it." Everyone faced Kakashi, waiting for him to explain himself.

"You have a theory about this Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru asked.

The masked jounin cleared his throat. "It might be possible that the children are Orochimaru's creation."

"What!?" Sakura exclaimed before stopping herself and checked if she had disturbed Boruto, the child was thankfully still asleep.

"It's just a theory." Kakashi assured them. "It could be that somebody had collected Naruto's sperm and-" Kakashi's eye darted to Hinata.

"And produced a test tube baby?" Shikamaru continued prematurely.

"That's disturbing." Naruto said, his body visibly shaking in rage. If Kakashi's theory was true, he feel like he was violated. Although the children that it produced are no fault to this, but whoever made them had probably done so in ill intent, a possibility that angered Naruto. Children should be produced from two people who loves each other, just like Kurenai and Asuma.

"Does that mean someone's eggs had also been taken?" Ino asked, her expression is that of horror.

"Yes…" Kakashi paused, a sigh escaping from his lips before dropping the bomb. "And I firmly believe that it's from you, Hinata."

"No way-" Chouji gaped.

"Hinata?" Shino repeated.

"Our unassuming Hinata?" Tenten asked unbelieving.

Hinata paled. Although a part of her is celebrating that there's a possibility that the children she had grown fond of are her children with Naruto, but the thought of someone extracting an egg from her uterus without her knowing sickens her. The mandatory check up for the active Shinobi usually consists of psychological and physical exam. During the physical exam, there is one part where a medic nin, usually a female, performs ultrasound to check for abnormalities in the body. Someone might have drugged her to sleep during that time and took the eggs and she wouldn't know any better. That scenario makes her want to vomit.

Hinata?" Kiba gaped in shock before looking at Himawari to Boruto to Hinata. Kiba, including the others, finally acknowledge the similarities between the three, although not as prominent as the children's similarities with Naruto. Similarities such as Boruto's face and eye shape, Himawari's hair color and even Himawari and Boruto's nose is from Hinata's.

"I have been with Hinata-sama through these past years and I did not remember anyone close to Orochimaru approaching her." Neji explained trying to keep calm. "Although I see the resemblance between Hinata-sama and Hima-chan, I could not imagine anyone taking an egg from Hinata-sama without us noticing."

"Remember that Orochimaru has a couple of medic nins in his midst. One could have snuck in an pretended to be one of ours during mandatory check ups." Kakashi explained, the theory becoming more and more like reality.

"This might actually prove to be a stain on Konoha's medic nin reputation if that's the case, somebody taking her egg and Naruto-kun's sperm i mean." Shizune explained. "It would be ruled as a lax on Konoha's security."

"To drag Hinata into this. Damn." Naruto hissed to himself. His hand is now over Himawari's head as if shielding the child from the possibility that they were made for something sinister.

"Why?" Hinata's voice broke. "Why would he make them? These sweet children are innocent. And why me and Naruto-kun?." She cried.

Kakashi closed his eyes. "Because of your ancestry. Both you and Naruto are from powerful old clans but there could be more to that than what we know. And to combine both the Uzumaki and Hyuga, that's a legend in the making." He explained.

' _I have a clan?'_ Naruto thought. He hadn't really met any Uzumaki aside from Nagato.

"I can attest to that." Neji raised his hand. "The first time I saw Hima-chan, I had seen her chakra pathways. At first I thought nothing of it but now I'm certain. Hima-chan's byakugan pathway is already developing." This made Hinata gasped and open her own byakugan to check, she was more than impressed.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked in concern. His hold on his supposed daughter becoming more firm. Goodness, he's being overprotective already.

"It means that Hima-chan will be able to open her byakugan sooner than anyone else from the clan up to date. A Byakugan prodigy in the making." Neji stated. His every word laced with pride.

"So it's confirmed then, Himawari and Boruto are Hinata's children too!" Kiba suddenly clapped his hands. "Yes! Let's marry off Naruto and Hinata!" He suggested but was hit by Shino on the back of the head.

Sakura and Ino couldn't help but chuckle, and cheese about the prospect, while Naruto just chastised Kiba.

"That's nothing to joke about Kiba." Naruto scolded. He eyed Hinata on the corner of his eye wondering if she was offended by Kiba's joke. A sharp uncomfortable feeling wrapped around Naruto's chest at the thought that Hinata did get offended. He does not understand why he feels uncomfortable with prospect that Hinata's very much against at the thought of marrying him. Which is weird because Hinata loves him as a friend. But why does he keep telling himself that?

Unbeknownst to him, Hinata did not hear anything at all, her full attention is on the boy sleeping on her lap.

"Nii-sama, look at Boruto-kun's chakra pathway." Hinata said in awe and Neji immediately complied and turned on his Byakugan.

The others, mainly Kakashi and Shikamaru, waited eagerly for Neji's information.

"Such a large chakra reserves of one so young! And so complex! He is also developing byakugan pathways-" Neji stopped and squinted his eyes, then they widen once more "-No, it's not the byakugan, its entirely new!" Neji exclaimed in awe. Rock Lee in the corner of the room looks like he's about to cry hearing that as he mumbled about the flames of the next generation.

Hinata tried to find what Neji saw but to no avail. Unlike her byakugan, Neji's is more powerful and can pick up minute details that most Hyuga can't see, he is not called the Hyuga Prodigy for nothing.

"Eh? That's amazing." Sakura whispered also in awe. "You know, we could just let Naruto and Hinata mass reproduce and we could have our own super Shinobi." She joked causing Naruto to chuckle and Hinata to blush at the 'mass reproduce' part. It isn't a bad idea to her, mass reproducing with Naruto and all.

Sai on the other hand grew serious hearing Sakura's joke, a rare occurrence reserved only at battles or at missions. The part about the super shinobi was the one which caught his attention.

"That gives me another idea. A theory. It could be Danzo-sama, not Orochimaru who had done this." Sai said.

That shocked the whole group. Their Hokage Candidate?

"What are your basis for this accusations Sai?" Kakashi asked.

The pale man shook his head. "I could not tell you anything as of now but-" His eyes drifts to Naruto and Sakura. Two comrades he had grown close to. "-when it is super soldiers we are talking about, Danzo-sama has a hand on it."

"Sai..." Naruto murmured, his opinions of Sai is not that solid yet but Sai had become a part of his circle of friends, friends whom he knows has his back.

"Interesting…" Kakashi whispered.

"So many theories but we don't know the answer." Ino mused, already downtrodden from all of the conspiracy theories.

"It doesn't matter."

All looked at Naruto.

"What matters is that the children are in our hands. And it's our duty as shinobi to protect them. Regardless of who their real parents are or how they were conceived, they're still part of the people we vowed to protect." Naruto finished with a determined glint in his eyes.

It struck Kakashi on how much Naruto had grown. Far from the immature kid he had once knew who only thought of impressing everyone for the due to his loneliness. Now this boy had grown, and unlike other people who had ran away from their pain, Naruto faced them.

' _Jiraiya-sama, look at your student now. I hope you and Minato-sensei are watching over his growth.'_

"I agree with Naruto-kun. If anyone had born these children as a weapon against Konoha no Sato, that someone is bound to look for them." Hinata stated with conviction. Her speech devoid of her usual lack of self-confidence.

"We wouldn't want that." Sakura said looking at the boy on hers and Hinata's laps. "But there's still the question about the children's memories. They clearly have some kind of memory of a different Naruto and Hinata."

"It could be a genjutsu." Shikamaru suggested. "A skilled enough person could trap someone in a genjutsu and completely manipulate them to believe in something that does not exists. Or maybe even make them forget their own existence the case of some highly skilled genjutsu masters. The effect depends on the person's ability to break the jutsu. Seeing that these kids are still young, they could have been living in a genjutsu their whole lives."

"How horrible." Ino whispered.

Before anyone could say anything, a dreadful sound broke their conversation.

 _Knock! Knock!_

"I-I'm not expecting anyone." Shizune said, looking at Kakashi in concern.

The jounin just nodded his head and signaled Shizune to greet the visitor and act like nothing's wrong.

The room is on high alert. Sakura helps Hinata carry the still napping Boruto to the back of the office within the laboratory.

Naruto was about to give Himawari to Neji when the Hyuga silently shook his head pointing towards Naruto's injuries. It was clear that Neji wants Naruto to stay back for awhile with the baby. The blond wanted to protest but Himawari's soft whine at being jostled stopped him. Looking down at the little girl, Naruto felt the urge to stay close to her, to protect her. And so Naruto nodded to Neji's plan and followed Hinata and Sakura in the laboratory.

With wave of Kakashi's hand, the remaining Shinobi hid like trained anbu. The Ino-shika-cho hid under Shizune's equipment table and computers. Their weapons drawn and their hands ready to cast a jutsu. Team Gai hid behind the cupboards, each taking their own space. Neji is ready to activate his byakugan and Rock Lee's cracking fists can be heard from the adjacent cupboard. Kakashi and Sai stayed together, their bodies practically glued to the ceiling. Sai's attention on Kakashi waiting for his signal.

Shizune finally opened the door, a deceptively empty room behind her.

"Good afternoon? How may I help you?" Shizune asked.

It was a man. A very boring looking man with dull brown hair and eyes. He doesn't look anything special but Shizune immediately felt an odd pressure coming from the him.

He sent her a wide grin. "Hello. You must be Shizune-san right? I'm looking for someone you see. I've asked around and it seems that they ended up here."

The medic nin returned the smile. "I'm afraid that I'm alone right now. But I'll make sure to find you if I someone roaming around."

The man's smile turned sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Eh? The people downstairs said that they saw a group of teens drop off a boy here."

Panic coursed through Shizune's being. This man is really after Boruto! Shizune remained calm and continued on her lie.

"I'm sorry but they must have been mistaken. I just finished my last check up and everyone had already left." She said trying to appear apologetic.

Much to her relief, the man believed her.

"Can you point to me where the teens took the boy? I'm sorry but this is just really important." The man begged.

A sigh of relief is just on the tip of Shizune's tongue. She was about to make up a lie that would hopefully keep this man on a wild goose chase so, they could plan something to hide the children from the man, when a very young and distinct voice echoed throughout the room from the laboratory.

"Kaa-chan? What's going on?"

It was Boruto.

"Boruto!" The man gasped while gently pushing Shizune aside to enter the room.

A horrified Shizune tried to stop the man. "No! There's nothing he-"

 _Chuck!_

The man froze, his eyes hardening as he quickly moved his head to the side as a kunai flew past his head, cutting some strands of his hair in the process. With great speed, that thoroughly surprised Kakashi, the man threw two kunai's of his own at the direction of Kakashi and Sai who both dropped down to the ground to avoid the kunai.

 _Clink! Clink!_ The kunai dropped harmlessly on the ground behind Kakashi and Sai, just right in front of a panicking Shizune.

The man's eyes widened at the sight of both of them, his guard visibly going down and his face turning pale.

The man opened his mouth. "Shit! I didn't meant to-"

"Ara ara, I'm afraid we can't let you approach the child without stating your relationship with him." Kakashi stated twirling a two pronged kunai on his finger. He is wearing a deceptive bored look. Sai silently stood beside him with an open scroll in hand and a paint brush between his lips.

The man raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Etou… I can assure you that I'm not gonna hurt Boruto." he said sheepishly.

Kakashi can't tell if the man is lying or not. But there was something about him. He is wearing a Konoha standard uniform, vest and all. Kakashi had memorised every face of his colleagues, secretly knew everyone by name but this man is entirely unfamiliar to him. But there was something about him that is familiar, something that completely boggles Kakashi's mind.

Right behind the man is Ino slowly crawling to a more visible position, she nodded to Kakashi signaling that he has to stall the man as she positions herself to do her clan's shintenshin no jutsu.

"I'm afraid a simple reassurance is not enough. What is your connection to the sannin Orochimaru?" Kakashi lazily asked. The kunai still twirling in his finger but he subtly moved his pointer finger from side to side, subtly telling Ino to not make a rash decision.

The man tilted his head in confusion. "What does Orochimaru have anything to do with this?"

' _So he does know Orochimaru.'_ Kakashi thought, his palms itching to rip his hitai-ate and use the sharingan on the man.

Behind, Ino had arrived on the perfect spot. She quickly did the jutsu's signature sign.

Just in time for the man to start talking. "Look, It's really important that you give Boruto to me immediately. It is for his own sake, and.." The man rattled on, his body becoming animated as he expressed some kind of distress.

Ino smirked at the perfect opportunity. ' _Shintenshin no J-'_

In a split second, the man whirled around flinging a kunai at Ino's direction. Ino saw the kunai wiz towards her, the surprise petrifying her into place. And then her body moved on its own, flinging her to the side as the kunai struck at the place she had been. A black tendril ran from her shadow to the place where Shikamaru was standing. Ino winced when her body collided on the nearby table but was thankful that it's only going to leave a bruise. Better a bruise than an impaled eye.

"Oh shit! Will you please let me talk before attacking me? I might accidentally kill you!" The man exclaimed in clear irritation.

It was then that all hell broke loose. Rock Lee bursts from his hiding spot with a battle cry. The man immediately crouched in a taijutsu pose and crossed his arms in front of his face as Rock Lee's foot collided with it causing a thud. Rock Lee immediately straightens his other bended knee and used the man's crossed arm as a platform for him to somersault backwards, the moment Rock Lee moves out of the man's fighting range, Tenten comes jumping out behind him throwing two kunai with a wire attached on both of it's ends. The kunai came sailing parallel to each other and detached as the wire collided with the man's body and wrapped itself around the man.

"Wait-!" Both the man and Kakashi shouted.

The trapped man cursed as his body became entangled with the wire. In then in a feat almost impossible to others, the man tore through the wire freeing himself, like it was only made of brittle thread. Tenten could only watch in awe and surprise.

"I guess I will have to forcibly take Boruto with me." The man said, his expression turning dark as he slides into a taijutsu pose that was oddly familiar to Kakashi.

Kakashi gaped and shook his head.

"Kakashi-sensei! Stop them, they're gonna destroy my office!" Shizune shouted in horror, already looking at the dented table and the kunai which had imbedded themselves on the fighting had intensified as it involves into a 1 vs 6 battle royal.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sai asked, waiting for an order (unlike those who impulsively just jumped into the fray.)

This isn't going as Kakashi had planned. He was hoping to extract information from the man first before jumping into action, assess if he was really a foe. Oh well, guess they have to detain the man before he'll get his questions.

"Don't kill him. Just render him immobile." Kakashi ordered. He himself will join if the younglings cant handle it.

Sai nodded his head and immediately draws a snake. "Chōjū Giga!" He yells as the snake comes to life and slithers towards the man.

Rock Lee, who was engaging the man in taijutsu and tag teaming with Tenten and Chouji while Shikamaru tries to catch the man's shadow, jumps back when spotting the snake.

Much to Kakashi's surprise, the man had seen the snake slithering towards him. His trained eyes saw the slight tilt of the man head. The man suddenly turns performs a quick hand sign.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" The man shouted placing both palms on the ground. A pillar erupted from the ground to the ceiling causing the snake to collide on the rock wall and splatters into ink. This also blocked Kakashi's view of the man.

"M-My office!" Shizune cried in a comical horrified face. Tonton, who has been hiding in the corner, ran to her and oinked in sorrow.

"He's a trained Shinobi." Sai murmured in concern.

"Yes. If he's the person I think he is then yes, he is more than just trained, he's skilled." Kakashi concluded as he takes off his hitai-ate.

In the opposite side of the wall, there has been a temporary truce. Neji stood face to face with the man in a Jūken stance. Beside him is Rock Lee and Tenten, right behind is Shikamaru, a wincing Ino and Chouji. Behind the laboratory door is sure to be Kiba and Shino, ready to protect the children if the man passes through them. They're all blocking the door of the laboratory

"Why are so adamant on taking Boruto?" Neji hissed.

"It's better if you don't know." The man stated, for some reason his voice is soft towards Neji. His eyes sad but gentle. But there was a certain spark in it too. As though he is happy to see Neji.

Although the rookies are on high alert, the man is not. He looks like he's just standing there as if he is not outnumbered at all.

The man suddenly sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Maaan, I feel bad for fighting against teenagers. I did not expect that all of you would be here." He confessed.

"You are also going after two innocent youthful children! That's the one you should feel bad the most!" Rock Lee passionately stated, not knowing that he had confessed a crucial information.

"Two chil-" the man's eyes widened. "Himawari!" He exclaimed.

Neji almost convulsed in anger. "You are not taking Himawari and Boruto away from us!" He growled. He had promised Himawari he'll protect her. And Boruto is his nephew. They're part of his family that needs to be protected. And he'll do so until he dies!

"This is too bothersome." Shikamaru grumbled, but he too slid into a fighting position.

"Then you guys leave me with no choice." The man said closing his eyes. He then opened them and seemingly nothing had changed, his eyes are still brown but some kind of shade appeared around his eyelids.

"Let's do this quickly. I have someone waiting for me and he's not patient at all." The man grumbled as he slid into a kata.

' _Could it be Orochimaru?'_ Shikamaru thought as they await the man's move.

 _Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!_

An electrifying sound emanated around the room as the wall behind the man suddenly bursts into rubble. The impact was so strong that they had to cover their eyes to shield it from the bright blue light that accompanied the burst. The rubble cleared revealing Kakashi with his hand bright with electricity and chirping birds could be heard from it.

"That was a pretty strong wall." Kakashi commented, pretty impressed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino cheered.

But one thing was missing. The man is not in front of them anymore.

"Oh no." Sai whispered, he and Kakashi are looking at something behind the rookies, and it's something that shocked them.

The rookies turned and was horrified to find the man right behind them, facing the laboratory's locked double doors. Kakashi knew that the door is made up of wood littered with invisible seals that keeps the whole laboratory room private from prying eyes such as the Byakugan. It also strengthened the door and making the room somewhat like a protected bunker.

The man then placed a palm on the wooden door and something pulsed. The pulse comes from the man's hand and it vibrated throughout the building.

And much to their horror, the door bursts inwardly from the other side revealing a shocked Naruto, Kiba and Shino covering Hinata who is carrying Himawari and Sakura who is carrying Boruto. Akamaru growls in front of the man but the trespasser remains undaunted.

"Wh-what?" Shizune could only whisper.

This man is on a whole other level from them. And Kakashi could feel that he's holding back. In fact, he barely exerted any effort at all. The jounin hesitated at his plan to attack. He realised how much of a danger the teenagers are in if they provoke the man in an all out fight. They might even alert the Hokage office prompting Danzo and his people to come. That's another problem all together. Oh how things went downhill fast. He scolded himself for not acting fast enough. But his curiosity had prevailed him and now they're in deep shit. There was no mistake in what he saw.

Kakashi saw Neji attempt to make a move to attack but he quickly appeared beside Neji to stop him.

"Kakashi-sensei! We must do something!" Rock Lee said in alarm.

"He's something we can't handle. No more impulsive actions." Kakashi whispered, his sharingan turning. "The technique he did. He clearly used nature chakra." He concluded.

Disbelieving eyes flew to him. Only one person could utilize such chakra.

The man strides inside the room and looks at its occupants. His eyes traveled from Kiba to Shino. And then Naruto… The man's eyes softened at this. He did not even flinch at Naruto's fierce sneer as the blond gets ready to fight despite the injuries he has. The blond had also unconsciously covered Hinata and Himawari's from the man's sight. Boruto, who is being carried by Sakura, stared at the man with interest.

Naruto felt helpless. He can't fail now! Not when he had failed to protect those he loves time and time again. Jiraiya flashed through his mind, then Tsunade's shriveled body. He took out a kunai in his pocket but winced at the sharp movement. He realised how weak he is right now. How can one get stronger?

There was silence in the room as the man stayed in his position. His guard may appear down but Kakashi knew it was not.

"Boruto." The man's voice rang out. "Let's go home." He simply stated.

"You can't take _my_ son." Naruto growled. He tried to access his chakra but cursed to himself when he realised that it hasn't recovered yet.

Instead of being offended, the man seems to beamed with pride.

"Please leave us alone." Hinata stated in a strong voice. She is hugging Himawari to her chest. The calm baby just cooed and babbled with no care in the world.

The man's attention switched to Hinata. He appeared almost in trance then, staring at Hinata's face. His gaze traveled from her face down to the bandages covering her arms and some part of her collar. He frowned at this and appeared saddened. He murmured something incomprehensible to the others.

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked.

"It doesn't matter." The man answered back as he knelt down (Causing some to flinch) and pat Akamaru's head.

"Akamaru!" Kiba almost jumped to save his companion when the dog sniffed the man's hand and barked in joy. It started licking the man's skin and whined when the man stood up.

"You are outnumbered." Sakura threatened inching closer to Hinata. Her hold Boruto slackened and the boy quickly slid out of her arms. Sakura quickly tucks the escapee behind her.

"Boruto, come here." The man softly asked the child.

No one expected Boruto quickly dart around Sakura, who tried to immediately reach out for the boy but he was too fast, and ran to the man in open arms.

"Boruto!"

"Boruto-kun!"

They cried but the man had already scooped up Boruto…

And playfully threw him in the air...

Boruto's shrieks of joy echoed throughout the room as he was caught by the man. The boy immediately nuzzled on the man's neck.

"Miss you." Boruto murmured.

A spike of jealousy stroke through Naruto's chest. What is happening? Everyone seems to be as confused as he is. Why is his son nuzzling at the man who supposedly held them captive.

"How did you know it was me?" The man cheekily asked the blond boy who giggled.

"Your voice." Boruto answered.

At that, Neji turned on his Byakugan and gaped at what he saw but no one took notice of his reaction as they all stared confused at the sudden twist.

"Is this a mithon?" Boruto asks the man. He pats the man's face and pinched his cheeks.

"Mission. It's S, not TH." the man corrected before turning to Hinata who is clutching at Himawari tightly. Naruto is still in front of her. "Hinata… Please give me Himawari."

Hinata hesitated, unsure of what's happening. She instinctively scooted closer to Naruto who hid her and their child from the man.

"Please, it's almost sunset and the kids needs to get home, Hina-"

"NARUTO."

"Yes?" Two voices answered Neji's call.

But one owner of the voice widens his eyes as he was caught red handed. All stared wide eyed at him, mouths dropping in shock. Neji stood there, smug. Kakashi nodded his head as if everything has finally been solved. Hinata almost dropped Himawari but the child just shrieked in laughter at her almost accident. Naruto looks the most shocked.

"Fuuuuck! I was so close!" The man cursed, hanging his head in defeat.

"What's fuck, Tou-chan?" Boruto asked the man.

* * *

It was akin to a horror movie watching the man's face being peeled apart only to reveal an older version of oneself. That's what Naruto felt as the man took off his brown wig revealing a short tuff of blond hair (His hair!), And took of the prosthetic skin on his face revealing a strong square jaw, familiar whiskers and high cheekbones. Then the man took off his contacts showing orange frog eyes that faded into familiar bright blue eyes (his eyes!). Naruto almost passed out from the whole ordeal.

"Awww man! I am so much in trouble tte-bayo!" The man, ahem, older Naruto, grumbled combing his hair back in exasperation.

"You clean up well, Naruto." Ino whispered to the younger Naruto flirtatiously. A shiver ran up his spine.

Younger Naruto studied his older self. Much to his pleasure, his older self is tall, taller than Kakashi even and both seems to be at the same age at the moment. He also noticed the powerful aura around him. That made Naruto wonder what kind of battles had his older self gone through. He also noticed the bandaged right hand, was he burnt in the near future?

"How is this possible?" Shikamaru gaped, looking back in forth between younger Naruto and older Naruto.

"Time traveling, I guess." Older Naruto grumbled as he took Himawari from a very red Hinata who is looking dreamily up at him.

Kakashi bursts out in laughter at this.

"Wait- Naruto was right all along!?" Kiba exclaimed in disbelief.

"My theory was right!?" Younger Naruto joined Kiba.

"Time traveling is possible?" Sakura gasped.

Older Naruto just scratched the back of his head. "I guess it is. There's someone else who can explain it better than I can. But let me tell you that my children ending up in here is a pure accident." he said, scooping up Boruto so he has each of his kids on each arm.

"We had so many theories on who you were and how the kids came to be." Sakura chuckles, placing her hands on her hips.

Older Naruto chuckles. "Let me guess, you thought I was Orochimaru or working for that slimy old snake. And the kids are some kind of clones of me or someone " He guessed.

"Yup!"

"That's impossible. Orochimaru won't have that kind of technology for now. And he's dead during this time." The older Naruto casually shrugged.

Kakashi blanched at this. "What!?"

"He's dead?" younger Naruto whispered in shock. "Then Sasuke-"

"Sasuke-kun is he-"

"All in due time." Older Naruto cryptically said to both Naruto and Sakura. "Just don't lose hope."

Naruto and Sakura deflated a bit, not really happy that they didn't get some answers.

"Can you tell us more about the future?" Rock Lee _passionately_ asked, his eyes darting to Sakura.

Older Naruto shook his head (Himawari copied him at the same time), and looked at the bushy brow apologetically. "I was not supposed to reveal myself to you guys. Much less tell you much about the future." He explained.

Ino winced, realising that all of these could have been avoided if she had not impulsively attacked the older Naruto when Kakashi had told her not to.

"I'm sorry about attacking you, Naruto-san." Ino apologised.

"Oh no, don't apologise." Older Naruto grinned. "I was proud of how protective you lot were of my children. Protecting the next generation ensures the continued legacy of the will of fire."

That made younger Naruto pause. Is his older self the Hokage now?

"You destroyed half of my office Naruto-kun." Shizune sighed at the older Naruto. But there's a fond smile on her lips.

"You could send the bill to baa-cha- oh…" Older Naruto grew sad. "Baa-chan's still in coma at this time."

"At this time? You mean Shishou will awaken someday!?" Sakura beamed.

Young Naruto's heart soared at that. This is great news! He felt a great burden being lifted off of his shoulders. Shizune appeared to get teary eyed as well.

"Oh, I was not supposed to tell you that. I made so many slip ups now." Older Naruto winced but appeared glad to see Sakura and Shizune's wide and teary smiles.

Hinata stood at the corner watching the whole debacle. She looked at the older Naruto, it would seem that Naruto had gotten more handsome with age. She felt her heart lightened looking at Naruto holding his two children comfortably as they start to drift off to sleep once again, lulled by their father's deep voice. Her eyes drifted to the younger Naruto looking at the older one with awe as he joins in with the discussion. She felt the immense love she has for him. She wonders if Naruto had already reached his dream of becoming Hokage? She certainly hoped so.

"What a turn of events, isn't it Hinata-sama." Neji whispered beside her.

"How did you know it was Naruto-kun, Nii-sama?" She asks.

Neji looks at her warmly. "I may not have your stamina when it comes to using your byakugan but I had developed it to see through carefully crafted seals. Things are easy to spot when you know what to look for." he explained.

"You knew what to look for…. You suspected that the man was Naruto-kun all along." Hinata concluded, clearly impressed.

"It was Kakashi-sensei that planted the thought in my head." Neji stated with a smile meant for Kakashi who had laughed at something older Naruto had said. His eyes drifts on the older Naruto and to his left hand where a gold band rests on its ring finger. Neji couldn't help but smile at that knowing who the man had married. He wondered when the wedding took place, what age they were. He was there for sure, he wouldn't miss it for anything.

"Well, it's time for us to go." Older Naruto declared and was met with protests.

"You haven't answered any of our questions yet!" Young Naruto protested. "Am I- i mean- are you Hokage now?" he asked vehemently.

With a grin, the older Naruto looked at his younger self fondly. "Not in a few years." he admitted. "But we're almost there."

The younger Naruto cheered and punched the air in joy. "Yes! I'm going to reach my dreams!" He cheered.

"Aww… I'm not going to become Hokage?" Kiba whined. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Older Naruto and the others chuckle at this. The former turned back to his younger self and gave him a serious look.

"Have you ever thought of what you will do once you reach the top? What's your ultimate dream?" He asks.

The younger Naruto frowns and stopped punching the air. That's a question he had never encountered before. He had always looked forward, towards the goal of becoming Hokage, of being able to create peace for the people he cares about. He hadn't really thought of what he will do next, right after he becomes Hokage. In his mind, becoming Hokage is his ultimate dream but...

His dreams… It was not just to become Hokage. No, he had multiple dreams, dreams that he refused to acknowledge because he thought they were impossible. When he was young, he had also dreamt of having a family. Of a mother and father. And maybe even more.

"Family…" Younger Naruto whispered. "I've always wanted to belong to some place. To care for a family, to feel the responsibilities of having a family." A big one to chase away the loneliness.

That was the sole reason why Naruto hadn't been able to fully understand Sasuke back then. He didn't have a family of his own, had never felt the loss of one. Sasuke had felt the bonds of a family, the responsibility of being in one. Naruto…. Naruto had envied him for this.

"Look around you…" Older Naruto started.

Younger Naruto looked… And he saw his comrades looking back at him, their expressions mixed. But have one thing in common, they supported him. They had protected the child they thought was his. They were willing to fight for him and had his back.

"They are your family." The older man said. "Not only this group but those people outside too. They all look up to you now. Tough times are just ahead of you. These people would need you help, your guidance and protection. That's what's it's like to be in a family." he finished.

Kakashi remained silent but the man had confirmed his worst fears, there will be a war.

"That's why Sasuke did what he did." The younger one concluded, his eyes downcast. "He failed to protect his family. And so seeked power."

"But I lost sight of who I am. The person I wanted to be."

All turned to the person who spoke and all was very surprised. Standing behind them, near the door of the office, is a man in a bluish cloak. The man's right eye is covered by his long black hair. Young Naruto noted that the man looks very much like Itachi. His heart soared when he realised who it was.

"I thought of getting stronger for vengeance. And when things didn't go as plan, I lost sight of my goal and went astray." The man continued walking towards them. "I thought cutting off the people I loved would get me stronger. No more burdens, no more ties to a family that would end up hurting me." He said, his gaze drifting to an openly teary Sakura whom he sent a smile. "But I didn't realise that the family that I thought burdened me, was the true source of my strength."

The dark haired man then slightly bent down so he could be eye to eye with the younger Naruto. "Never forget that when you come to save me Naruto. Show me how wrong I was with my contradicting ideals. How I spoke of indifference when deep inside I longed for something else."

"Sasuke…" Younger Naruto whispered, tears accumulating on the corner of his eyes.

"You are going to grow up to be the most powerful shinobi I know. Not just because you acquired great power, but because of your ability to love and forgive. A person worthy to be loved back." Older Sasuke finished sending the younger Naruto a rare warm smile.

"That's so touching, teme. I didn't know you felt that way about me. I'm sorry but I'm married." Older Naruto teased and bursts into laughter when older Sasuke sent him a scathing glare that says 'I said so many nice things about you and this is what I get?'.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura cried. "You came back." She simply said. A smile growing amidst her tears. Seeing Sasuke, albeit an older version of him, renewed Sakura's hope. The last time Sakura had seen Sasuke, there was darkness in his eyes. A malevolent darkness that scared her to her core. He was so unfamiliar to her. But this man in front of her, this man is exactly the Sasuke she knew.

"Not yet tte-bayo." Older Naruto teased. "So don't give up in trying to bring him back, Sakura-chan! And when you see him, tie him up and drag him to the Hokage to marry."

That caused the teary audience to chuckle, even Rock Lee chuckled at that despite his breaking heart. Sakura blushed at that and blushed even more when the older Sasuke just smirked and appears to not be offended. She wondered if her future self had done exactly that. She hoped not, she might be a bit of a hot head but she's still a lady.

Older Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Older Naruto. "Have you've been telling them things about the future?" He growled.

"Just a little bit." Older Naruto shrugged with a mischievous grin.

"You were not supposed to reveal yourself. This complicates things you know." Sasuke stated still glaring at the grinning blond.

"Sasuke… When will you return?." Kakashi's voice cracked, looking at his already grown student.

"Just right after the war." Sasuke confessed shrugging his shoulders like it was nothing.

"Eh!? Why did you just casually say that while you berated me for telling them some things!" Older Naruto exclaimed jolting Himawari awake. The child whined but older Naruto immediately started to sway and bounce a bit to lull her back to sleep.

"Tsk, there really will be a war. How bothersome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Can you tell us more, Sasuke-kun? We need to ready ourselves." Ino said with conviction.

"It won't matter, you won't remember this day anyway." Sasuke said causing everyone, but the future Naruto, to gasp at this.

"So you'll erase our memories?" Sakura cried. She doesn't want to forget the older Sasuke. She just gotten her hope back!

Sasuke smiled warmly almost reaching out for her but stopped himself.

"Not erase, alter it a bit just like what I did to the people below." Sasuke then sent older Naruto a glare. "This guy caused a ruckus and it actually attracted a couple of Shinobi and fucking Danzo's men. I had to deal with them. And I had to go after the people who had seen Boruto and Himawarii."

Silence prevailed, their expressions showing their rebellion of the idea.

"This is for your own good." Sasuke said in a cold tone. "As hard it is for us to do this, remember that the future has already been set, altering it might even cause certain events to cease to exist. Like the birth of Naruto's children or us losing the war entirely." He continued.

Kakashi, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino seems to have understood this while the others vehemently protested.

"You mean I won't remember Boruto-kun and Himawari-chan?" Hinata cried. She took one last look at the two sleeping children and tears gathered in her eyes. In just a span of hours, she had already fallen for those children. Her heart clenched at the thought of never seeing them again.

Older Naruto merely smiled fondly at her. "It's okay Hinata. You'll give birth to them in about 5 years from now."

"It took that long?" Young Naruto exclaimed and suddenly emit a deep blush when he realised that he had said his thoughts out loud. Hinata and several others blanched at this (While the former almost passes out). Even Sai looks shocked.

Older Naruto bursts out laughing. "Well, it would be a lot sooner if we just realised that Hinata has loved us all this time. Romantic love I mean, not the friendly one we both thought it was." he explained with a chuckle. "So your crush on her is not unrequited young me."

A bright smile erupted on young Naruto's face as he sent his older self a grin. "So it is a crush! It feels nothing like my crush on Sakura-chan before! It feels like my whole world lights up when Hinata's around." he confessed and this time, a very red Hinata needed to be supported as she almost fainted. Kiba started heckling in the background while Sakura and Ino awwwed.

"Eck, this is so fucking cheesy." Older Sasuke pretending to retch.

"What? I've always been a romantic at heart." Older Naruto chuckled.

Soon enough, it was time for them to go.

Sasuke asked them to group together to make things easier for him. But before he leaves, he approaches Sakura one last time.

"Sasuke-kun… Will everything be alright in the future?" She asks. Although she will never remember this conversation, she will treasure this encounter for eternity.

"Don't give up on me." Sasuke said nodding his head. "And you can punch me for my foolishness."

Sakura laughed at this. And to her surprise, Sasuke raised his hidden right arm and poked two fingers on her forehead. She blushed and tried to cover her large appendage, her insecurities suddenly resurfacing after a long long time.

"What was that?" She asks.

"A promise… To see you later." He answered as he turns away.

The pink haired girl was left there confused. But for some reason, the poke made her happy. Like Sasuke just shared something very personal with her. It gave her hope.

Neji had also approached older Naruto and the napping kids, a smile on his lips.

"You have a beautiful and sweet daughter, Naruto." He greeted, looking up at the tall blond.

The blond grinned. "She looks like Hinata doesn't she." He fondly said, looking down at his slightly snoring daughter.

"She actually inherited more of your features but has Hinata's calm disposition." Neji said with a chuckle.

The father chuckled as well. "Thank goodness for that!"

"Naruto, I hope you'll let them visit me, wherever I live now, in the future. I would love to babysit them for you." Neji smiled looking fondly at his nephew and niece.

He didn't see older Naruto bite his lip, trying to hide the sorrowful expression that threatened to break out.

The whiskered man cleared his throat. "They'll visit you often." That was all he could say or else the heavy feeling in his heart will surely produce tears in his eyes. If only his wife was here to see Neji once more. He is sure that she would love it.

"Naruto, lets go." Sasuke called and the older Naruto followed suit.

Naruto watched his older self step beside Sasuke. That's exactly what he longed to see, his best friend beside him. He cast one last look at the children. He would miss them, his children.

' _I have a family…'_ He reminded himself looking at his comrades who are all facing forward, waiting for their reckoning. ' _But I still can't wait to be a father to my own children.'_ he thought with a wide smile.

He saw Sasuke's eyes suddenly morph into a sharingan that they had never seen before.

Then they knew nothing…

* * *

Naruto stepped out of the portal with a sigh. He made sure that his children are comfortable in his arms.

What a day!

"I'm so glad I came to find you after I found out the kids were missing. I knew you could help! Thanks Sasuke." He said to Sasuke who just silently accepted the thanks.

He looked back at the closing portal behind him. "Did we really traveled back in time?" He asked.

"No. It was a parallel dimension, it does not follow our timeline but the events that will take place are practically the same." Sasuke explained as he looks up at the dusk skies. Night is almost upon them.

"Eh? Then why alter their memories of today? We could have told them about the war! So many people could have been saved in their timeline!" Naruto cried, regretting the lost opportunity.

They could have saved Neji!

"I meant what I said. Things could have changed drastically. Events would be altered, results will be different. More people could die." Sasuke explained as he slumps on a nearby rock and started massaging his eyes. The dimension traveling had taken a toll on his eyes. He would have to rest for days once again before he can resume his mission on finding the dimension where Kaguya had hailed.

"Th-that's…" Naruto trailed off "That was not the first parallel dimension you had visited, isn't it?"

The dark haired man sighed. "Yes…" He confessed. "I had tried to alter that dimension for your sake. I showed myself to Neji and told him of his future demise, as well as details about the war, about Kaguya and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And… It changed the war drastically… The allied Shinobi forces had the upper hand. But… Your Hinata died protecting you."

Naruto froze. Dread spreads through his body as he envisioned what Sasuke was saying. A dead Hinata on his arms as he tried to scream for a medic. Her blood on his hands… His hold on his children tightened. His throat clogged up.

"With Neji busy with the task I had given him, no one was there to take the blow meant for Hinata. Obito was able to sway you, after all, only he knows what's it's like to lose the woman you love. And you were so close to your breaking point, no Hinata was there to remind you of your nindo." Sasuke paused letting the memories of his mistake flow unto him. "No one was able to reach you on time. By the time the others had approached you, the darkness that had swallowed my heart in vengeance, had also swallowed yours."

"I became the enemy of that dimension…" Naruto concluded.

"I don't know what's going on in that dimension right now. What the conclusion was. I had to leave it when my life became in danger. But since then, I had vowed to never alter a parallel dimension ever again." Sasuke said opening his eyes.

Silence lingered in the air as Naruto processed the information.

"I still don't know how the children end up on that parallel dimension." Naruto admitted, trying to shake off the image of a dead version of his beloved wife. He assured himself that his wife is safe back home, waiting for his return with their children in his arms.

"Believe me, this isn't the first time someone had end up on a parallel dimension on accident." Sasuke cryptically stated. "Someone out there has it out for us.

* * *

It was an ordinary day. Neji watched his dreaded crater slowly get filled up with soil as civilians and shinobi alike helped each other pass some soil in a bucket and some Shinobi using Earth release jutsus to help the process.

"Ah! Today is so boring! Not like yesterday!" Tenten whined, stretching her body out before she ended up doing some taijutsu katas.

"Those children from Nami no Kuni were so adorable!" Rock Lee passionately shouted as he does some handstands. "Although I can't seem to remember their faces."

"I'm just glad that their father and uncle found them immediately. Although the father did mess up Shizune-san's office from his tantrum." Tenten chuckles.

"Glad they're back on Nami no Kuni now." Rock Lee concluded.

Neji remained silent…

And then he sighed….

No matter how much they embellish the happenings yesterday, a couple of missing children that were immediately returned to their family without any fuss was really no adventure.

Yesterday was such an ordinary day...

* * *

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites and follows! It inspired me to finish this two shot! Please pardon my English, I'm still trying to broaden my limited vocabulary and learn every rules about tenses and etc. :D I'll do my best to better myself so I could share more coherent stories to you guys.

Thank you so much to Gio88 for editing my stories for me.

Should I add more one-shots in this story? Maybe some of our cast would visit the dimension Sasuke had mentioned, the one he accidentally altered for the worst? Or maybe a little Sarada facing her murderous young father during his expedition on vengeance? Let me guys know. Although I wont be able to provide those additions immediately because classes just started for me.


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